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ballarat // bendigo // geelong // surfcoast // warrnambool // werribee
the go set
focus: career path 101
issue 554 // 7 MAR 2013 // next issue: 21 mar
EVERY SATURDAY
C0MIN G UP!
DIDIER C0HEN R0B PIX PEKING DUK WILL SPARKS J0EL FLETCHER JAMES FAVA HEATH RENATA Z00LANDA MIKE METR0 J HEASY WWW.CHINESEWHISPERS.TV CNR SH0RTS PLACE, GEETR0IT 3220
0PEN TILL 5A M
YH
YA R R A
H O T E L
G E E L O N G
s y a d r u t a S
CRANK
It’s EASY
BEING GREEN ST PATRICK’S DAY SUNDAY 17 march
CARLTON HOTEL 21 malop st, geelong. (03) 5229 1954 featuring IRISH bands Wee Dram O’ Whikky
&
Enquire Within
opening noon 6
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A WORD FROM THE TEAM
FORTE mag is published by FORTE PUBLISHING p/l abn 64 054 589 641 pHONE: 03 5229 7969 fAX: 03 5229 0318 po box 1388 GEELONG VICTORIA 3220
PUBLISHER...........................Anton Ballard
Dear Readers, It’s been a pretty crazy fortnight for both the Australian music industry and wider media world with the recent passing of two veterans. Australian DJ Adrian Thomas (known by most of us as Ajax), passed away on his 42nd birthday under tragic circumstances. We remember him as a pioneer of the Australian dance music scene, and as a valued mentor to emerging electronic artists. Peter Harvey was a leading Australian journalist whose experience in the industry was second to none. Harvey passed away after losing his battle to pancreatic cancer, but during his time with us relished in his reputation as one of Australia’s most popular and most respected news personalities for almost forty years. It’ll be an impossibly huge set of boots to fill for these two. - On a lighter note - ...In America, there’s a guy dressing up as Batman, capturing bad guys and turning them in to cop stations. Now that, is awesome. For all of you embarking on a trip to the Folky in Port Fairy, or are off to visit Aunty Meredith, or possibly to see the unbelievable Boys Noize at Future Music Festival, be safe, have fun, and be considerate to those of us who aren’t able to venture outside four walls this long weekend by keeping all your crazy/fun stories to yourself on your return. Thankyou in advance. Oh and enjoy a pint of Guinness for the big man St Pat. Until next time, Forte
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general..............................enquiries@fortemag.com.au EDITOR/SALES MANAGER....Luke McNamara luke@fortemag.com.au ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR....Bec McIntyre bec@fortemag.com.au COVER DESIGN.....................James Dulce PRODUCTION........................James Dulce David DiCristoforo SCENE PHOTOGRAPHER.......Sarah Gross April Grenfell ADVERTISING ......................Anton Ballard aballard@fortemag.com.au
Marc Wilkins marc@thegeelongtimes.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS................... Anthony Morris, Adem Ali, Ben Schultz, Chris Cruz, Chris Lambie, Cyclone, Daniel Meagher, Lucas Skinner, Natalie Rogers, Nekita Roberts, Nina Bertok, Ophelia Symons, Paul S Taylor, Phil Hickey, Renee Abbott, Sam Eckhardt, Sam Fell, Stephanie Zevenbergen, Tex Miller, Wylie Caird, and Tony Montana PRINTED BY......................... RURAL PRESS PRINTING (VIC) BALLARAT 30-32 Grandlee Drive, Wendouree ADVERTISERS AND AGENTS ARE ADVISED THAT ALL ADVERTISING COPY IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY UNDER THE TRADE PRACTICES ACT. ADVERTISEMENTS ARE PUBLISHED IN GOOD FAITH AND ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CONTENT IS LEGITIMATE AND LAWFUL. ADVERTISERS AND OR AGENTS SUBMIT ADVERTISEMENTS AT THEIR OWN RISK. THE EDITOR AND CREATORS HOLD NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR THE CONTENT OF THE MAGAZINE IN THE CASE THAT IT MAY OFFEND. FORTE ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. FORTE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT ALL ARTICLES AND LETTERS.
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the HIGHLIGHTS
megan fox
THE LATEST ON international & national news & tours The Highlights: We spent six months in a leaky boat (clap-clap, clap-clap). Coming up you have… .........................................................................
Want to Meet Some Presidents? There have been some fine American presidents: Abraham Lincoln and FDR spring to mind. None, perhaps, are finer than Chris Ballew, Jason Finn and Andrew McKeag; the three who comprise The Presidents of the United States of America. The band checks into The Palace on March 10 with guests Hey Geronimo and The Wellingtons. All tickets purchased include a free download of the band’s Australian tour EP. Meet and greats are also available. .........................................................................
3RRR Needs You Community radio is in some trouble, my friends. The deal is this: the Government has committed $2.2 million per year to community radio for four years (2012-2016). Unfortunately, a minimum of $3.6 million is required to maintain community digital radio services in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. 3RRR are among those who need the Government to make up the next difference in the next federal budget and all they’re asking is for you to spare a couple of minutes. If you are passionate about music please visit committocommunityradio. org.au and fill out a few details to let the Government know you want action. .........................................................................
Flume Thinking Big Sydney’s Harley Streten, better known as Flume, is fast becoming the pin-up for electronic/dance music. Streten’s name started attracting attention in 2011 after submitting some of his work to a record company competition. In 2012 he released his self-titled debut album to critical acclaim and in January four of his songs found their way on to triple j’s Hottest 100. He is a hot name on the lips of the music world. Festival Hall - May 2. .........................................................................
Supafest Returns Well, what do we have here? It looks as though Supafest is returning in 2013. Following last year’s difficulties you could be forgiven for placing your
money on ‘it’s over’. Organisers have revealed on Facebook - and if it is announced on Facebook it is gospel - that the festival will be making its way around the country in April. Line-up and venue announcements had yet to be made at the time of writing. Melbourne - April 27.
SLAM Fighting Fund Campaign
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Jesus Christ Superstar As has been widely publicised, an Australian run of Jesus Christ Superstar will take place a little later in the year. In fact, Australia is the first leg for the international tour. Given the 1992 run was the most attended Australian musical production of all time it’s rather fitting Australia has been chosen for the honour. Jesus Christ Superstar stars Mel C, Tim Minchin, John Stevens and Andrew O’Keefe. Rod Laver Arena - June 14 & 15*. (*two shows.) .........................................................................
Breaking Bad, Go to Jail In random news, a fan has created a Breaking Bad version of Monopoly called Methopoly. Created by Joanne Silverman, tweaks to the game based on the popular HBO series include traditional ‘Chance’ cards being replaced by ‘Bell Cards’ and ‘Community Chest’ cards being replaced by ‘Heisenberg Cards’. The game board features properties including ‘DEA Office’, ‘Strip Club’ and ‘The Meth Lab’. It can be downloaded through methopoly.com.
Movie Talk
For over three years SLAM (Save Live Australia’s Music) volunteers have dedicated their time to ensure the country’s live music scene was placed on the political agenda. They have been fighting the good fight since over-arching Victorian Liquor Licensing policies unfairly linked live music to high risk activity. To continue to do their work they need your help. So, if you have some spare coin, as little as $10, it can go a long way to ensure they keep doing what they are doing. The more you donate, the sweeter the thank you gift you receive. Hit slamrally.org for further information.
Several names keep getting attached to new movie projects including James Marsden to Anchorman 2. Marsden, who has showed his comedic skills in 30 Rock, will play a rival of Ron Burgundy. Megan Fox has been cast as April O’Neil in the TMNT reboot. The movie has had its share of troubles but it all goes well it will see the light of day in 2014. Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In) have been attached to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The highly-anticipated sequel is due in 2014.
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Vans Warped Down Under If reports out of the Brisbane leg of Soundwave are to be believed, the Vans Warped Tour will return to Australia in December, 2013. According to Triple M the good news was cast during Blink-182’s set. Vans Warped last made an appearance in Australia in 2001 so it has been a long wait indeed but seeing as how the UK is now part of the shenanigans it’s only fair Australia is now on the calendar. Enjoy keeping up to date on that one. .........................................................................
Dude Looks Like Aerosmith Way back in 1990 was the last time Aerosmith toured Australian shores on the back of their monster album Pump. There have been plenty of hopes and rumours of their return since but up until now they’re
remained just that, hopes and rumours. But now it is happening. Steven Tyler and his men are heading back and with 23 years of pent-up longing in the air, you can bet the shows are going to sweee-eeet. Rod Laver Arena - May 4. .........................................................................
Foo Fighters in the Workshop As their legions of Australian fans would know, the Foo Fighters have begun work on their new album. A few months back Dave Grohl wrote an open letter to fans explaining that the band was taking a breather. Needless to say many FF fans sighed an almighty sigh, probably even the almighty one himself. What has happened in those past few months I am not sure but with such news it is a good time to be a Foo Fighters’ fan.
Tame Impala Get Busy Tame Impala are living the dream of countless bedroom musicians these days. Their 2010 debut Innerspeaker announced their arrival while their follow-up effort Lonerism showed they weren’t about to leave any time soon. Good thing they’re most welcome houseguests - except they may leave your fridge empty and open. They are doing the GTM rounds but have added some headliner shows as well. Festival Hall - April 26.
GDH EVENTS FORTEMAG.COM.AU
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THE
FORT-NIGHTLY CALENDAR & GIG GUIDE AT THE HEADS: Live music from 5pm till 7pm (Barwon Heads) CLUB TITANIUM: Live Bands upstairs, DJs downstairs KAROVA LOUNGE: The Slurrymen with Gullivan & Mard, tickets $6 doors from 9pm (Ballarat) BABUSHKA BAR & LOUNGE: Birhanny Lawrence EP Launch $5 entry (Ballarat)
Saturday March 9
mat mchugh friday march 8 at the torquay hotel
Thursday March 7 EUREKA HOTEL: Some Blonde DJ, Will Sparks, TVB, Simon One, MCK, Shorty J and more. Free entry before midnight with Gold Pass SLATE POOL LOUNGE: Open Mic Night BEAV’S BAR: Dave Anderson ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Drink promos & Giant Meat Raffle from 5pm till 8pm THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays CITY QUARTER BAR: Unplugged featuring 30 acts over 6 heats during 10 weeks, major prizes to be won for competition entrants, every Thursday from 7pm till 10pm THE MAX HOTEL: Hashtag Thursdays with DJ Sammy CLUB TITANIUM: Uni Night BABUSHKA BAR & LOUNGE: Month of Sundays (Free Entry) (Ballarat)
Friday March 8 BRIDGE HOTEL: Ngairre with Ainsley Wills. Doors open from 8.30pm, tickets $15 (Castlemaine) GROVEDALE HOTEL: Trojan performing live ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Jimmy & The Mex performing live THE GATEWAY HOTEL: McAlister Kemp TORQUAY HOTEL: Matt Mc Hugh & The Seperatista Sound System (tickets
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available from the venue or via OzTix) THEATRE ROYAL: Pete Murray on The Byron Sessions Tour with Special Guest Nathan Kaye. Tickets available via OzTix (Castlemaine) EDGE BAR: Levi & Cody CITY QUARTER BAR: Tom & Tayla THE MAX HOTEL: Mojo Corner performing live with Adventure Playground performing downstairs YARRA HOTEL GEELONG: Revolution Fridays with Cast Iron Pinata, The Deep End, Arcane Saints and Universal Dj Set HARVESTER MOON: Jordie Lane and The Yearlings (SA) (Double Bill) Dinner and show concert from 6.30pm with show starting at 8pm (Bellarine) BARWON CLUB: Japan For, Secondhand Squad (SA), Initials, Maricopa Wells & Tim Hampshire BEAV’S BAR: Dave Anderson ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday YARRA HOTEL GEELONG: Revolution Fridays with original bands and djs from 9pm BLACK HATT: Drink promos from 5pm till 7pm (free entry) Double Vision performing live BAR PIZZA: DJ Merv & Drink Promos LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live bands & DJs open from 5pm THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays IRISH MURPHY’S: Live music every Friday & Saturday night BEACH HOUSE: Happy 2 Hours from 5pm till 7pm (Barwon Heads)
GROVEDALE HOTEL: Ross O’Connell ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Both Sides performing live SPHINX HOTEL: Miss Universe Australia Regional Finals DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: John Braka EDGE BAR: Peter Chapman CITY QUARTER BAR: Jesse Reid THE MAX HOTEL: Hey Charger performing live CENTRAL GEELONG FARMERS MARKET: Held second Sunday of each month on Little Malop Street, visit www. centralgeelong.com.au for more information BARWON CLUB: Hopes Abandoned performing live BEAV’S BAR: Butters DRYSDALE HOTEL: Steno & Gracey (Drysdale) THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays IRISH MURPHY’S: Live music every Friday & Saturday night TORQUAY CENTRAL FARMERS MARKET: From 8.30am till 1pm (Torquay) ST LEONARDS MARKET: From 9am till 1pm on the St Leonards foreshore (St Leonards) WERRIBEE PARK MARKET: From 8am till 1pm at on the Werribee Park Mansion grounds (Werribee) LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live bands & DJs open from 9pm EUREKA HOTEL: Retro Classics Night HOME HOUSE NIGHTCLUB: Grand Opening of the Backyard with Helena, Jessie Young, James Steeth & DJ Surrender GOLDEN PLAINS MUSIC FESTIVAL: Cat Power, George Clinton, Dinosaur Jnr, Tallest Man On Earth, Purity Ring, Moodymann, Flume & more (Meredith Supernatural Ampitheatre) PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL: Tim Finn, Shaun Kirk, Xavier Rudd, Sean Taylor, The Ramshackle Army, Siskin, Allana & Alicia Egan, John Hudson & more (Port Fairy) CLUB TITANIUM: Party Time with guest and local DJs TORQUAY HOTEL: Pre - Loved YARRA HOTEL GEELONG: Pop Saturdays KAROVA LOUNGE: Ennui Breathes Malice Presents EBM Jam with Left for Wolves & Diminish Reason, tickets $10, doors from 8.30pm (Ballarat) BABUSHKA BAR & LOUNGE: Gallery Dillon Naylor Exhibition and Monte Casino & Gerard Rush $5 entry (Ballarat) CHINESE WHISPERS: Paper Planes Party ft. J-Heasy, & Matt Watkins
Sunday March 10
BRIDGE HOTEL: Broderick Smith (The Dingoes) & Guests from 4pm, free entry (Castlemaine) BARWON CLUB: MXPX with support from The Human Electric, afternoon performance with tickets $25 plus bf available from the
venue and metropolisttouring.com ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Cal Young performing live EDGE BAR: Jay & Mick plus Marcus Hayden QUEENSCLIFF UNITING CHURCH: The Go Set performing live from 7pm. Tickets $35 includes a BBQ dinner (Queenscliff) SEBROSO: Sunday Session with Cuban Salsa Dancing, DJ Schmickey & Paella from the Pan AIREYS INLET MARKET: From 9am till 1pm at the Community Hall (Aireys Inlet) AT THE HEADS: Live music from 3pm till 5pm (Barwon Heads) BLACK HATT: Wonderland Sundays (free entry) EUREKA HOTEL: Labour Day Eve Holiday party feat. Allstar Retro & Top 40 HOME HOUSE NIGHTCLUB: Labour Day Long Weekend party with SCNDL, Kalus & DJ Crunk GOLDEN PLAINS MUSIC FESTIVAL: Cat Power, George Clinton, Dinosaur Jnr, Tallest Man On Earth, Purity Ring, Moodymann, Flume & more (Meredith Supernatural Ampitheatre) FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL: Bloc Party, Boys Noize, Azealia Banks, Dizzee Rascal, The Prodigy, The Stone Roses, The Temper Trap, Rita Ora, Rudimental, Steve Aoki, FUN & more (Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne) PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL: Tim Finn, Shaun Kirk, Xavier Rudd, Sean Taylor, The Ramshackle Army, Siskin, Allana & Alicia Egan, John Hudson & more (Port Fairy) TORQUAY HOTEL: Soul Sister & Hey Charger performing live (Torquay)
Monday March 11 ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11 LORD NELSON HOTEL: Steak/Parmi & Pot for $15 on presentation of student I.D GOLDEN PLAINS MUSIC FESTIVAL: Cat Power, George Clinton, Dinosaur Jnr, Tallest Man On Earth, Purity Ring, Moodymann, Flume & more (Meredith Supernatural Ampitheatre) PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL: Tim Finn, Shaun Kirk, Xavier Rudd, Sean Taylor, The Ramshackle Army, Siskin, Allana & Alicia Egan, John Hudson & more (Port Fairy)
Tuesday March 12 ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night THE SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11, Poker Night (free) GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13
Wenesday March 13 BEAV’S BAR: Karaoke, Open Mic with Dave Anderson DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: Wednesday Night Wheel from 7pm, cash & prizes up for grabs! ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8.30pm till 10.30pm THE SPHINX HOTEL: Steak Night from $16, Poker Night ($10 buy in) GEELONG RSL: Parma & Pot Night $13
Thursday March 14
BRIDGE HOTEL: Castlemaine Fringe Festival Eve - The Tourettes from 8.30pm, tickets $8 (Castlemaine) SIDEWAVES: Opeth with support from Katatonia at The Palace, tickets on sale now through OzTix (Melbourne) ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Lloyd Spiegel performing live, tickets $15 REGENT MULTIPLEX: Pete Murray on The Byron Sessions Tour with Special Guest Nathan Kaye, tickets available via OzTix (Ballarat) BEAV’S BAR: Kim Churchill & Andy Forster ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Drink promos & Giant Meat Raffle from 5pm till 8pm BLACK HATT: Tradies Night in the Bar from 5pm till 7pm, Open Mic from 7pm with acoustic, bands, solos & duets THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 THE MAX HOTEL: Parmi Night $12, InnQUIZitive Trivia from 7.30pm till 10.30pm, amazing prizes, call to book your team’s spot THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays CITY QUARTER BAR: Unplugged featuring 30 acts over 6 heats during 10 weeks, major prizes to be won for competition entrants, every Thursday from 7pm till 10pm EUREKA HOTEL: Full Moon Party with Yasumo, TVB, Simon One & more CLUB TITANIUM: Uni Night KAROVA LOUNGE: Empires Fall with Hunt the Hunted, Graves & Nicolas Cage Fighter & Reeds of the Temptress. Tickets $10 from 8.30pm (Ballarat) BABUSHKA BAR & LOUNGE: The Savages David Grimson - Cost TBC (Ballarat)
Friday March 15 CASTLEMAINE FRINGE FESTIVAL: Visual Art, Performance, Music, Film & Literature - 21st Birthday. Running from March 15 - 24. Check out www.castlemainefringe.org.au (Castlemaine) BRIDGE HOTEL: Castlemaine Fringe Festival - D.D Dummbo & Jordan Ireland from 8.30pm, tickets $16 THE GATEWAY HOTEL: Sunny Cowgirls THE MAX HOTEL: Trojan DRYSDALE HOTEL: Killer Karaoke (Drysdale) EDGE BAR: Matt & Justin BARWON CLUB: Dirt River Radio and Born Lion performing live $10 entry BEAV’S BAR: Jesse Reid
ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday YARRA HOTEL GEELONG: Revolution Fridays with original bands and djs from 9pm with Ardemia, Virtue, Prowlers & DJ Fingers Crossed performing live BLACK HATT: Drink promos from 5pm till 7pm (free entry) Cor Ten performing live BAR PIZZA: DJ Merv & Drink Promos LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live bands & DJs open from 5pm THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays IRISH MURPHY’S: Live music every Friday & Saturday night BEACH HOUSE: Happy 2 Hours from 5pm till 7pm (Barwon Heads) AT THE HEADS: Live music from 5pm till 7pm (Barwon Heads) BARWON HEADS FESTIVAL OF THE SEA: Art, music, food stalls, family entertainment and more (Barwon Heads) ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: Both Sides performing live GROVEDALE HOTEL: Good Faces 4 Radio performing live CLUB TITANIUM: Live Bands upstairs, DJs downstairs KAROVA LOUNGE: Apes with Jakarta Criers & Lurch & Chief. Tickets $10 with doors from 9pm (Ballarat) BABUSHKA BAR & LOUNGE: Rachael Brennan (Cost TBC) (Ballarat)
Saturday March 16 CASTLEMAINE FRINGE FESTIVAL: Visual Art, Performance, Music, Film & Literature - 21st Birthday. Running from March 15 - 24. Check out www.castlemainefringe.org.au (Castlemaine) BRIDGE HOTEL: Castlemaine Fringe Festival - Deniz Tek (Radio Birdman) and Lead Finger from 4pm, free show (Castlemaine) GEELONG RSL: Lonnie Lee & The Leemen meal and show tickets $50, show only $25 for members, $55 meal and show, $30 show only for non members SPHINX HOTEL: Rocking Horror Tribute DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: Tom & Tayla EDGE BAR: Tom & Tayla PIPING HOT CHICKEN SHOP: The Hornets performing live (Ocean Grove) BARWON CLUB: The Living Eyes, The Clits, The Laughing Leaves tickets $8 GOLDEN PLAINS FARMERS’
tim finn sunday march 10 at port fairy folk festival MARKET: Held from 9am till 1pm in the Historical Precinct (Symthesdale) CARLTON HOTEL: Solo acoustic pop covers & originals with Gracie Hester in the lounge from 7.30pm BEAV’S BAR: Nick Tabone THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays IRISH MURPHY’S: Live music every Friday & Saturday night BARWON HEADS FESTIVAL OF THE SEA: Art, music, food stalls, family entertainment and more (Barwon Heads) TORQUAY CENTRAL FARMERS MARKET: From 8.30am till 1pm (Torquay) LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live bands & DJs open from 9pm EUREKA HOTEL: Allstar Retro & Top 40 party ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: Sam Fletcher performing live THE MAX HOTEL: Frequency CLUB TITANIUM: Party Time
ATT: FORTE READERS! we want to know what your up to so you can be included in the fortnightly calendar! please send the details of your event to bec@fortemag.com.au please provide your gig info at least one week prior to the event to guarantee your inclusion in the calendar.
with guest and local DJs YARRA HOTEL GEELONG: Pop Saturdays KAROVA LOUNGE: Nina Las Vegas, tickets $12, doors from 9pm (Ballarat) THE HILL WINERY: Neil Young & Crazy Horse with support from Shane Howard (Waurn Ponds) BABUSHKA BAR & LOUNGE: Peter & Christine Allen (Cost TBC) (Ballarat) POTATO SHED: Spud Fest presents The Getaway
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the sunny cowgirls friday march 15 at the gateway hotel
VENUEGUIDE!
THE gateway HOTEL
THE BARKING DOG
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126 Pakington St. Geelong West
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218-230 Princess Hwy. Corio
THE GROVEDALE HOTEL
bar pizza
236-258 Surfcoast Highway
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GROWLERS
137 Pakington St. Geelong
BARWON CLUB
509 Moorabool St. South Geelong
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BARWON HEADS HOTEL 1 Bridge Rd. Barwon Heads
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THE BASEMENT 159 159 Moorabool St. Geelong
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BEAVS BAR
77 Little Malop St. Geelong ....................................
THE BENDED ELBOW GEELONG
69 Yarra St. Geelong
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black hatt
54 Little Myers St. Geelong ....................................
THE BLUESTONE
103 Marr St. Ballarat
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Bridge hotel castlemaine
21 Walker St. Castlemain
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chinese whispers Cnr. Shorts Place. Geelong
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23 The Esplanade. Torquay
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HOME HOUSE
40-42 Moorabool St. Geelong
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IRISH MURPHY'S
30 Aberdeen St. Geelong
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JACK AND JILL 247 Moorabool St. Geelong
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LAMBYS
Cnr of Moorabool & Brougham St. Geelong
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THE MAX
2 Gheringhap St. Geelong
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MR. HYDE
11 Malop St. Geelong
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THE NATIONAL HOTEL 191 Moorabool St. Geelong
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odyssey
611 Surfcoast Hwy. Mount Duneed
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OPIUM BAR
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15 James St. Geelong
CITY QUARTER
Peter Lalor Hotel
Cunningham Pier, Geelong
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CLOUD 9
96 Pakington St. Geelong West
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Club TITANIUM
99 Ryrie St, Geelong
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eastern station 81 Humffray St Nth. Ballarat
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THE EDGE
1/6-8 Eastern Beach Rd. Geelong
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ELEPHANT AND CASTLE
158 McKillop St. Geelong
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THE EUREKA
98 Little Malop St. Geelong
331 Mair St. Ballarat
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RUMORS
5 James St. Geelong
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SLATE Pool Lounge
50 Little Ryrie St. Geelong
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THE SPHINX
2 Thompson Rd. North Geelong
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TOAST
114 Moorabool St. Geelong ....................................
the wool exchange entertainment complex 44 Corio St. Geelong
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the yarra hotel 120 Lydiard St (North). Ballarat
Sunday March 17 CARLTON HOTEL: St Patrick’s Day featuring Irish Bands Wee Dram O’Whikky & Enquire Within open from noon CASTLEMAINE FRINGE FESTIVAL: Visual Art, Performance, Music, Film & Literature - 21st
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Monday March 18 CASTLEMAINE FRINGE FESTIVAL: Visual Art, Performance, Music, Film & Literature - 21st Birthday. Running from March 15 - 24. Check out www.castlemainefringe.org.au (Castlemaine) ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11 LORD NELSON HOTEL: Steak/Parmi & Pot for $15 on presentation of student I.D
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Plan, Built on Secrets, Empires Fall, Hunt the Haunted, Glorified, The Playbook, Exposures & more. Held at The Potato Shed on Peninsula Drive from 1pm till 9pm, tickets $15 + BF presale via OzTix, $20 on the door. (Drysdale) CHINESE WHISPERS: Great DJs all night, Open till 5am
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Birthday. Running from March 15 - 24. Check out www.castlemainefringe.org.au (Castlemaine) EDGE BAR: Good Faces For Radio & Peter Chapman BARWON CLUB: Saint Patrick’s Day Party with The Go Set & more (Guiness and Cider promotions) SEBROSO: Sunday Session with Cuban Salsa Dancing, DJ Schmickey & Paella from the Pan AT THE HEADS: Live music from 3pm till 5pm (Barwon Heads) BARWON HEADS FESTIVAL OF THE SEA: Art, music, food stalls, family entertainment and more (Barwon Heads) MEREDITH HOTEL: St Patrick’s Day live Irish music (Meredith) BRIDGE HOTEL: Castlemaine Fringe Festival - Broderick Smith & Guests from 4pm (free) and Meg Corson Jazz Trio from 8.30pm (Castlemaine) ELEPHANT & CASTLE: St Patrick’s Day Party with Mongolian Fishmongers & Tolka performing live, more acts TBC, free entry. Doors open 12pm till 11pm IRISH MURPHY’S: St Patrick’s Day Party ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: James Sidebottom performing live THE MAX HOTEL: Frequency performing live
Tuesday March 19 CASTLEMAINE FRINGE FESTIVAL: Visual Art, Performance, Music, Film & Literature - 21st Birthday. Running from March 15 - 24. Check out www.castlemainefringe.org.au (Castlemaine) ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night THE SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11, Poker Night (free) GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 BRIDGE HOTEL: Castlemaine Fringe Festival - Sticky Carpet; A Documentary by Mark Butcher from 8.30pm, gold coin donation on entry (Castlemaine)
Wednesday March 20 CASTLEMAINE FRINGE FESTIVAL: Visual Art, Performance, Music, Film & Literature - 21st Birthday. Running from March 15 - 24. Check out www.castlemainefringe.org.au (Castlemaine) BEAV’S BAR: Open Mic Night with Andy Forster DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: Wednesday Night Wheel from 7pm, cash & prizes up for grabs! ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8.30pm till 10.30pm THE SPHINX HOTEL: Steak Night from $16, Poker Night ($10 buy in) GEELONG RSL: Parma & Pot Night $13 BRIDGE HOTEL: Castlemaine Fringe Festival - Jack Pantazis, doors from 8.30pm, tickets $15 (Castlemaine) BABUSHKA BAR & LOUNGE: Jamie & Nate - Lovecraft $5 entry (Ballarat)
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grinspoon By Natalie Rogers
Here at Forte Magazine we believe grinners are winners and Aussie rock royalty, Grinspoon, are no exception. Grinspoon has helped shape the Australian rock landscape for almost two decades and with the recent release of their seventh studio album, ‘Black Rabbits’, the guys have pulled another one out of the hat. Bassist Joe Hanson spoke with us during some down-time between tours: “The last shows we did were the Big Day Out, so we’re going to be pretty fresh to go out there. We’re looking forward to it.” The Big Day Out was the perfect way to start off the year for a band with a fresh album and two hit singles out on the airwaves. “It was an awesome tour - it was so much fun with all the bands hanging out backstage together. It was cool - we met some
nice people and had a fair few beers and just had a lot of fun.” The Black Rabbits tour, which begins in Brisbane and zigzags across the country from March till the end of April, will be one to remember, as the rockin’ quartet are joined by two very special guests: Melbourne’s indie rock outfit Kingswood, who have recently supported the likes of The Living End, British India and The Saints; and WA’s Emperors, who have been attracting a loyal following with the release of their debut album ‘Stay Frosty’. “We’re all stoked they’re joining us on this tour”, Joe said. “They are both getting lots of play on Triple J and are both really cool bands, so we’re pretty excited to have them along and be able to do the tour with us – it’s going to be great!” The solo shows alone have the makings of an epic night of music - so what would you say to Aerosmith, Wolfmother, Spiderbait, among others added into the mix!
“Yeah, it’s going to be big!” Joe exclaimed. “It’s certainly a good way to finish off the tour. Playing for maybe 50000 people or whatever it’s going to be, it’s not a bad way to finish it all up. I’m quite happy with that. “When we got an offer to do it, we were pretty surprised - we all live in different places, so we haven’t sort of got together and celebrated or anything, but I’m sure we’ll have the chance to do that!” Joe laughed. “Touring with stadium rock bands, it’s just such a trip getting to see what goes on behind the scenes and the amount of gear they’ve got and the size of the stage - just all the over-the-top stuff.” Although they’ve shared the stage with some of the biggest bands in the world, Joe assures me they haven’t forgotten their humble beginnings: “I can definitely remember our first gig - it was in Lismore at the Richmond Tavern, I think it’s called,” Joe reminisced, “and the first time we heard ourselves on radio we’d just won the Unearthed competition on Triple J. I think they played ‘Sickfest’ and I remember that it was awesome! It’s just incredible to record something then hear it being played back on the airwaves - it’s a real buzz, you know, and I still like hearing our songs on radio - I still get a kick out of it! The first time we heard ourselves on the radio in the States we were in Las Vegas and we were driving along and that was totally surreal.” With success often comes excess, and the band have experienced their share of well– documented trouble. “We’ve all either been kicked out or sacked ourselves at various times over the years”, Joe revealed. “But we just turn up to the next rehearsal
or the next gig and just get on with business as usual, so I don’t think there has ever really been a question of throwing it all in. Sure there have been various points where we all haven’t been happy, but then we think, oh, this is actually pretty good so why would I want to quit this. It’s good fun basically - that’s why we all still do it.” Through the ups and downs it is obvious the guys have remained good friends: “We always do a little bonding ritual just before we go on - we sort of get together and do a little thing to get us all on the same page, but none of us are very superstitious when it comes to performing - it’s not like we all have to be wearing black undies or anything, we just walk on and get the job done. Oh, but our sound guy has his front-of-house perfume – I don’t know what it is but he sprays it on every time he mixes. He does that every time, he always has!” If you get along to one of Grinspoon’s shows you can be sure to expect a night of exhilarating live music, and no Grinners’ set list is complete without Joe’s favourite, the quintessential hard rock anthem, ‘Champion’: “If I had to just pick one, that would be it. I don’t think we have ever not played it since we wrote it. It always gets the crowd going and seems to be a crowd favourite - and if the crowd is into something it makes the gig good.” So don’t be a ‘Passerby’ or ‘Branded’ a no-show for these gigs! When&Where: April 24 at the Yarra Hotel, Geelong
Live Music Thursday, Friday & all day Sunday Edge Geelong
@EdgeBarGeelong
Ph: (03) 5222 2666 | edgegeelong.com.au | enquiries@edgegeelong.com.au | 6–8 Eastern Beach Rd, Geelong, Victoria, 3220 18
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Seth Sentry By Natalie Rogers
Seth Sentry is off to see the world! That’s right - Channel [V]’s Oz artist of the year, the cheeky, charismatic and just plain clever emcee from Melbourne, is about to embark on his maiden voyage that will allow him to take in the sights and sounds of North America. “I just got approved the other day after a gruelling interview at the visa office – they’re letting me into the country, which is foolish of them!” Seth chuckles. “It’s not only my first time touring overseas; it’s my first time ever travelling overseas!” Ready to experience the road trip of a lifetime, Seth and his crew have their itinerary all locked up: “We are doing a show in New York and we’re going to drive from New York to Toronto so we can do the whole tourist thing - Niagara falls, which will be sick. I want to eat ribs in Texas and all that shit.” Audiences in the U.S and Canada are in for a real treat when Seth rolls into town. With dates booked in The Big Apple, at Canadian Music Week in Toronto and SXSW in Austin, Texas, Seth knows he needs to go in all guns blazing: “We’re coming straight back to do the Groovin’ the Moo tour, then on to my Dear Science shows, so it’s going to be a huge couple of months.” This year’s Groovin’ the Moo line-up does not disappoint, and Seth gave me the run-down of his top picks: “Pez is there, which is cool – and Tuka and Ellasquire who are also supporting me on Dear
Science. Tame Impala, oh I love them,” Seth continued. “Flume - I watched a bunch of his shows when I did the Laneway Festival - and The Rubens will be sick. Also SHOCK ONE from Perth - when I was touring my EP [ The Waitress Minute, 2011] I would take SHOCK ONE’s beats and would freestyle over them, and I had a chance to meet him only recently in Newcastle. Oh, Regurgitator are playing and Temper Trap Oh man what a line-up! Oh, and Urthboy as well - I can’t wait!” In between the GTM shows, Seth is planning a string of shows in May as part of his Dear Science Tour, named in honour of his hugely successful single of the same name. You can expect to hear all of your favourite Seth Sentry tracks from his debut album This Was Tomorrow [2012], and more. “I will be there doing my thing and my friend DJ B-TWO will be there on the decks - he is a flippin’ maniac. We will be supported by Tuka, who is having an incredible year, and Ellasquire as well. We just wanna come and party with everyone.“ For more on this man of the moment head to his YouTube channel - Mrsethsentry or sethsentry.com to find tour details, photos, videos, his latest tweets and general hilarity. When&Where: May 4 - Groovin’ The Moo Festival, Bendigo
Violent Soho By Cameron Brogden
Brisbane four-piece Violent Soho are really starting to make a name for themselves in the music scene. With songs coming in at #147 and #170 in the Hottest 100 Part Two, and regular play on Triple J, they’ve built a strong fanbase with their style of rock. They’re on the lineup for this month’s Push Over Festival, and I sat down to chat with frontman Luke Boerdam to discuss the festival. “It’s gonna be rad, we’re looking forward to it.” Luke said of the Push Over Festival. “We played like two years ago, I think... It was 2010 I’m pretty sure and we had a pretty cool time. It was a little bit rained out, but it was fun.” He went on to explain what separates Push Over from the other festivals. “It’s all ages, and I remember it was really loud last time. All ages festivals we’re really big fans of, because growing up we never really had much to go to. Everything is usually 18+, we don’t usually have that many up in Queensland, so it was pretty rad to see something like that happen down in Melbourne that was pretty large, a few thousand kids from memory, so it was pretty awesome.” They’re on a lineup that includes The Amity Affliction, DZ Deathrays and Millions, but they’re no stangers to sharing the stage with big names, having toured with the likes of The Black Keys, Grinspoon and Arctic Monkeys. “You definitely learn a lot, probably our biggest learning experience was doing kind of the whole
Genghis Can’t Swim By Tex Miller
Armed with a wide range of instrumentation, a highly energetic stage show and easy-going nature, Ghenghis Can’t Swim are quickly becoming one of the most acclaimed bands in the local scene. Having played a few gigs at Yarra Hotel Geelong and Revolver in Melbourne, I recently sat down with the boys in their practice space in Ocean Grove, to find out just what all the fuss was about. Forming after the dissolution of different bands, through a combination of mutual friends and extended jam sessions, Genghis Can’t Swim was the right fit for everyone as Kiam relates. “I was in a few different projects playing different music, however the musicians were learning their instruments as they went along so it wasn’t really going to work out I don’t think. With the four of us, everything just seemed to click.” Combining Harry on Guitar, Bass, Melodica, Mandolin and Vocals, Rob on Bass, Keyboard, Acoustic Guitar and Vocals, Daniel on Drums and Kiam on Electric Guitar, Lead Vocals, Bass, their wide range of instrumentation and spontaneity to jump on any instrument at a moment’s notice, makes for endless possibilities when they hit the stage. “We go out on stage and play our hearts out, no matter what instrument were on and just have fun with our performances, you can’t make other people have fun but hopefully, our positive energy and happy vibes will rub off on the punters. There is no front man in Genghis Can’t Swim and that’s one of our main philosophies I believe, to have no divisions between band members
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When & Where: March 11 - Push Over Festival, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne thing in the States, where we toured with Dinosaur Jr and Built to Spill, those bands really taught us a lot,” Luke recalled when I asked about their past support gigs. “Not in a sense that we actually sat down with them and copied the guitar chords they were playing, but I mean in a sense of how they acted on the road. They were just really respectful, and really nice guys, and there was no barriers, they didn’t create this and go out each night and rock out,” Rob says. Most recently having played at New Year’s Revolution at Courthouse Arts in early February, as well as the Battle of the Bands at Revolver, with a diverse range of influences including Cold War Kids, The Deftones and David Bowie to name just a few, their fresh originality and ideas into the Pop/Rock genre is what is making them stand out from the crowd. The band collectively agree that although, they aren’t going to pass up any opportunities that come their way, success is not the main priority. “You can’t start a band saying ‘yep, were going to have heaps of number one singles, make heaps of money and be the next Beatles. What I love about being in this band is the relaxed vibe and open minded boundaries that we have which in turn puts no pressure on our creativity.” Kiam said. Despite a lack of recordings at the moment due to extenuating circumstances with record producers, the band are currently continuing to work on new material, with a EP release (hopefully) in the not too distant future. “We have two songs recorded through various sessions and there are a few more in the mix at the moment. We were hoping to release something over the summer which sadly didn’t eventuate, but if you keep an eye on all of our social media sites, we will have some ready for release soon.” With a gig at Yarra Hotel Geelong on March 22, there is certain to be some shenanigans and good times had by all. The live music scene is very much alive and Genghis Can’t Swim are out to prove it, get out and see one of Geelong’s most exciting new talents before they hit the big time!
world around them where you weren’t allowed in their room, so you weren’t allowed to hang out with them, and they needed their space or anything. They were just really nice dudes and really cool to hang out with, and that’s the type of band that we want to be.” “There are bands we’ve toured with that we haven’t got along so well with, and bands that we toured with that we want to be like, because that’s what music’s about. The other thing I guess is, we’ve also picked up a lot of rad influences and heard about a lot of bands, like our
time in America, and with other bands in Australia... you pick up a lot of influences along the way.” “It kind of changes, the more you play every day, and the more you just listen to these other bands and pick up what they’re listening to and it helps you grow as a songwriter. Personally, it felt like if I had not gone to America, if I had not toured as much, I definitely would be writing less mature music, and not be as good, because you’ve got to be around it to pick it up and soak it all in.”
When&Where: March 22 - Yarra Hotel, Geelong
TALK OF THE
TOWN!
Keepin' it Regional!
focus: career path 101
BY POPULAR DEMAND
James Fava
the Black Passion Exhibition
scott dumbell [jetts fitness]
shane howard
“ I’m pretty sure that if we could sit down for dinner and pick brains it would be along the lines of Tom Waits, Tom Petty and Brian Fallon, just to name a few.” - The Human Electric
of Love That Group and Chinese Whispers!
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TALK OF THE TOWN! Talk of the Town: We’ll wake you up before we go-go. Coming up you have… .........................................................................
ChillOut Festival The ChillOut Festival rolls around this Labour Day weekend, March 8 through 11, and if you haven’t yet made plans perhaps you should think about checking out the wonderful spectacle. ChillOut Festival is the biggest and longest-running Country Queer Pride festival in regional Australia. While the festival readily admits that city festivals are a lot bigger, ChillOut prides itself on its relaxed atmosphere. The name says it all really. The first festival was held in 1997 with 10 stallholders and some 50-100 visitors. By 2005 the festival had grown to such a state that influential US website gay.com called ChillOut one of the best and most influential queer events in the world. In 2009 the festival had its biggest outing to date with more than 25,000 visitors checking out its Disco Stampede theme. As for 2013, well, there is a whole lot lined up including a bush dance, roller derby, horse racing, a women’s AFL tournament and art exhibitions. Highlights include Cream, a day focused on female musicians and Sunday’s street parade and carnival. It’s a guaranteed weekend of fun and everyone is invited - as long as you bring good spirits with you. Hit chilloutfestival.com.au for all you need to know. .........................................................................
darker side though: music. After a stint in band TV Jones turned sour, Deniz formed Radio Birdman, named after a misheard Stooges lyric. The band enjoyed a run from 1974 until 1978 until the band broke up citing “personality conflict.” They would reform in 1996 for the Big Day Out tour. There has been a lot of stuff in between gigs but you can do your own research. What you need to know is his latest effort is Detroit and he is playing The Bridge, Castlemaine on March 16. With Leadfinger. .........................................................................
Cream, Get On Top If you have been reading Talk of the Town thoroughly you would have come across the blurb for the ChillOut Festival. One of the highlights of the festival is Cream, a show featuring some outstanding female musical talent. So much so it’s worth a blurb of its own. Taking place at the Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs on March 9 the evening will feature the talents of Monique Brumby, Emma Wall Band, Sheilas of the 70s and The Shambelles. Monique Brumby is one of the country’s strongest female talents. Born in Tasmania, Brumby is a multiple ARIA-winner whose music has appeared in various television shows and movies. The Shambelles, meanwhile, are your groovy 1960s train. Armed with a selection of covers (both obscure and old favourites) and a handful of originals, The Shambelles will leave you grinning from ear to ear.
Sonic Animation of the Nation
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Have you shared the stage with artists including The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim? Sonic Animation has. Have you graced the stage of the Big Day Out and Homebake? Sonic Animation has. Have you won Best Live Act and Best Video at Australia’s Dance Music Awards? Sonic Animation has. You get the picture. Let me take you back to 1999. A year Prince immortalised in his song, what’s it called, ah yes, ‘1999’. Two fellas by the names of Rupert Keiller and Adrian Cartwright released the single ‘Love Lies Bleeding’. ‘Goddamn’, thought the music public, before copping a taste of their follow-up single, ‘Theophilus Thistler’. This month sees the release of Once More from the Bottom, their first full-length release since 2006. The Karova, Ballarat - March 28.
The Long Way with Albare
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Marie Wilson Rocks On Aussie rock chick Marie Wilson introduced herself to us in 1998 with her Top 40 single ‘Next Time’. The song would finish the year as one of the most played on Australian radio and help earn ARIA nominations for ‘Best Australian Debut Talent’ and ‘Best New Artist’. Since then she has written with Bryan Adams, Mark Hudson (Aerosmith) and fellow Aussie Beccy Cole while one of her songs has been recorded by LeAnn Rimes. Following the release of three albums she took a breather from music, stating on her website: “I was throwing my energy into running a business, and there didn’t seem to be any space for me to be creative. This also led to moments of self-doubt where I questioned whether I was going to be able to write again.” For fans the news is good with a new album in the works. Marie will perform at the Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs on March 10 as part of the ChillOut Festival. .........................................................................
For jazz aficionados, you’re going to want to check this one out. One of Australia’s finest jazz players, Albare, has announced a handful of shows next month. Born Albert Dadon, Albare moved from Morocco to Israel to France before settling in Australia. Although he dreamt of playing the accordion (his cousin played the instrument), it was the guitar that found Albare. His early days were spent playing the streets of Lyon and living a “fun-filled bohemian life.” At the age of 27 he settled in Australia. Albare’s latest release is Long Way, a release which has him performing with an international superstar band he refers to as iTD (international Travel Diary). Albare and band will perform at The Blakiston Drama Theatre, Geelong on April 13. .........................................................................
You Rang, Lurch & Chief What do you know about Melbourne’s Lurch & Chief? If your answer is, ‘not much’, well, this is for you my friends. Lurch & Chief is a Melbourne six-piece comprised of five strapping lads and one luminous gal. The genre bending band had a fine year in 2012 which included the release of their debut, Paranoia. It also served up singles ‘I’ll Meet You on Planet Z’ and ‘It’s Easy’ which helped the band land a spot on the 2012 Harvest bill. Now, in 2013, the fine times are continuing. First up you have their new single ‘On Your Own’. Secondly, their sophomore EP is set for release in June. That one is being handled by Lindsay Gravina. And thirdly you have a tour which shows off their new single. Now you know their story a little better, it’s time to check them out. The Karova, Ballarat - March 15.
ballarat / bendigo / geelong / surfcoast / warrnambool / werribee
combination of “fucked up chords, angular rhythms, hard beats, and shouty double vocals.” After testing the waters with two tours along the east coast over the past six months, the band thought it time to get cracking on a release and at the beginning of the month dropped their self-titled debut EP. For the release the band teamed up will fellow Sydneysider Dave Hammer (The Snowdroppers, Die!Die!Die). The Barwon Club, Geelong - March 15. With Dirt River Radio whose new album Rock & Roll is my Girlfriend is out now. .........................................................................
DeWolff on DeWay It is not just the music world that is pretty excited about DeWolff, the three-piece wonders who are taking Europe by storm. They teamed up with Converse to release a special DeWolff All Star shoe while guitarist and singer for the band, Pablo van de Poel, teamed up with Harley Davidson to design a tank and reader fender. Then comes the music praise which is flowing thick and fast with Rolling Stone calling them a ‘Must See Live Band’. They have killed it at Pinkpop Festival, Arrezzo Wave Festival in Italy and Zappanale in Germany and now they’re set to kill it in Australia. Described as a “psychedelic space rock’n’roll band”, the lads will release a very special Australian-only release featuring Strange Fruits and Undiscovered Plants and Orchards/ Lupine to support their tour. The Yarra Hotel, Geelong - March 22. With Red Leader, Genghis Can’t Swim and DJ Johnny El Pajaro.
Get Familiar with Bob Evans
Royston Vasie Launch Debut Members of Royston Vasie are living a double life. By day the Melburnians are mild mannered employees but by night they take off their glasses to reveal their musical superhero alter egos. It seems to be serving them well. Following a couple of singles including ‘You Want It Now’ and ‘Come On’, the band recently presented their debut full length album Tanah Merah it all its glory. Three of the four members grew up in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Mooroolbark. The name of the town is of Aboriginal origin and means ‘Red Earth’. With a nice little salute to their hometown, the title of their album is Indonesian for Red Earth. The band has been going about their business for a few years and their debut album is sure to win a few more fans. The Yarra Hotel, Geelong - March 29.
With a love for music as great as the day he first strapped on a guitar, Kevin Mitchell first found the good life in Jebediah. In the late 90s he began performing solo shows under the pseudonym Bob Evans as a way to perform incognito. How great a vision he had for Bob Evans is something I don’t know but with his forth studio album set for release in a week’s time one could not be blamed for thinking it wouldn’t reach such a point. His debut solo album, Suburban Kid, came a decade ago. The album featured guest appearances from members of Jebediah, Ammonia, Adam Said Galore and Little Birdy. Suburban Songbook and Goodnight, Bull Creek! followed. Not too long ago he released a music video for song ‘Go’. Yarra Hotel, Geelong - May 16.
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The Detroit Sounds of Deniz Tek
Born Lion on the Prowl
Raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Deniz Tek was exposed to the sounds of MC5, The Stooges and The Rationals. He spent 1967 in Australia with his family and developed such affection for the country that he moved here permanently in 1972. The trained ER doctor and ex-Navy flight surgeon has a
In early 2012 a new band was formed from the remnants of The Watt Riot, a post-punk meets dirty blues Wollongong outfit. This new band called themselves Born Lion, and with the handy inclusion of an ex-member of Town Hall Steps and Bayonets for Leg, the four-piece set out to deliver an almighty
Carus Thompson Volume 2.0 In the mid 90s roots-folk songman Carus Thompson was playing the Perth pub circuit, often performing four to five times a week. In 2000 he released his self-titled debut EP which caught the attention of similar acts and soon he was touring with artists including Jack Johnson, John Butler Trio and The Waifs. Despite this he was still largely unknown outside WA but that all changed with the release of his second EP, 2002’s Mind’s Eye. The full-length Songs from Martin St. followed and Carus, along with his band The True Believers, was a household name. His latest release is the live doubledisc Acoustic at The Norfolk: Volume 2, an album that comes nine years after the release of his first live album. It was recorded over two hot sweaty nights at The Norfolk Basement Lounge in Fremantle. The Marong Family Hotel, Marong - March 10 & The Piping Hot Chicken Shop - March 30.
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Castlemaine Fringe Festival In around a week’s time the 2013 Castlemaine Fringe Festival will serve up a ten-day program of the most wonderful of wonderful delights. And in 2013 it is turning the big 2-1. Yep, 21 - can you believe it? That makes it one of the longest-running fringe festivals in Australia. Tapping into the wealth of Castlemaine talent, the festival will feature film, art and music. From their website: “The Fringe Thing Inc. is a committee of old and new Castlemaine locals devoted to uniting and showcasing the wealth of local underground talent from Castlemaine and its surrounds. The biennial Castlemaine Fringe festival is the pinnacle of this showcase of local art and culture.” The festival takes place from March 15 through to March 24 with the full program available through castlemainefringe.org.au.
St Patrick’s Day Celebrations
Evermore Can be Heroes Kicking off in April, Evermore has announced a bumper tour which will keep them busy for a few months. So, what’s the tour all about? That would be ‘Hero’, the second single lifted from their album Follow the Sun (2012). The album was written in seven countries before being recorded at The Stables in Victoria. It has been released in the US and abroad where it seems to have found a warm embrace. The album’s title track features in the trailer for the upcoming animated film The Croods as well as in HBO’s year-ender campaign. It is not the first time the band has received love from abroad with their single ‘It’s Too Late’ featuring in promos for The O.C. as well as in the show itself. Star Bar, Bendigo - April 17; The Karova, Ballarat - April 24 & The Yarra Hotel, Geelong - April 25.
We all love St Pat’s Day. But who the hell is St Patrick? Here’s a quick run-down for those of us who have no idea why this guy is so worthy of such huge celebrations. St Patrick was a Briton born under Roman rule. When he was a teenager he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland to be a slave for a local landowner who put Patrick to work as a Shepherd. Six years Patrick spent in the mountains with his sheep. Praying to a Christian God, Patrick claimed a voice had come to him and told him that it was time to escape his slavery, so he travelled over 200 miles to find a ship that was heading back to Britain. After first being denied a seat, Patrick was allowed on board only to be captured by a band of brigands who returned him to slavery. Patrick believed that God had told him he would be free in two months, and sixty days later he was released. As many a young men do, Patrick spent the next 6 or 7 years on a journey of self discovery travelling through out Europe. Returning to Britain to be a priest, Patrick came to the belief that spreading the word of the Lord was his life’s purpose, until in the middle of the night a voice told him to return to Ireland where he was then responsible for converting the Irish to Christianity. Alas, St Patrick. Not quite the beer-guzzling, Irish Dancing, lucky charm-yielding story you’d imagined, is it? Atleast you can feel historically intelligent and culturally adequate when you attend a St Pat’s Day event at one of these venues in the coming weeks. A pint of Guinness, please? The Elephant & Castle, The Carlton Hotel, The Barwon Club & Irish Murphy’s. (Check out the gig guide for more info!)
Dancing with Sleep Parade Built on a fifteen-year friendship, Melbourne’s Sleep Parade first started mucking around with tunes in 2004. In 2008 it came time to release their debut album, Things Can Always Change. Since then a fair bit has happened. There have been the many, many tours and many, many supports. There has been extensive airtime. There has also been a tweaking of the line up. Now comes time for their new album, INSIDE/OUT. The band first started toying with the newie in 2009 where they worked with Forrester Savell. It took some time but as drummer Dab Teng explains: “We needed a chance to be really inspired as opposed to rushing this record and producing something subpar.” Good things come to those who wait and new single ‘Dancing with the Enemy’ is a goodie. Bended Elbow, Geelong - April 5.
The Gentlemanly Spit Syndicate Are there two more gentlemanly chaps in the hip hop community than Nick Lupi and Jimmy Nice, the duo who comprise Spit Syndicate? Perhaps, but this isn’t about anyone else. This is about the Sydney duo’s brand-spanking new release, Sunday Gentleman. ‘Folly’ and ‘Beauty in the Bricks’ were released in the lead up to the album’s release late last month. As for their history, Spit Syndicate released their debut EP The Future’s Bright in 2006. Although they have admitted the EP was a rush job it did a fine job of getting their name out there. They have since released two albums (Towards the Light and Exile) as well as a couple of mixtapes. Opening spots for artists including Cypress Hill, Xzibit and Ice Cube have also serve the duo well. The Karova, Ballarat - April 26.
Love Saves Mat McHugh
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For over a decade now music lovers have soaked up the sounds of Mat McHugh, firstly as the leader of the merry men in The Beautiful Girls and now as a solo artist. Last year Mat released the solo album Love Come Save Me and you want to know what he did? He made it available for free download. Can you imagine such a thing? Needless to say that the album was downloaded a massive amount of times. Sure, we all love something for free, but it was the soulfulness of his music that really won people over. In their review FasterLouder wrote: “They get you in the heart, and as a songwriter McHugh has a way with words and melodies that are just so easy to connect to.” Along with his band the Seperatista Soundsystem, May plays the Torquay Hotel, Torquay on March 8.
I Had the Time of My Life In the world of Australian music the names Daryl Braithwaite, Ross Wilson, James Reyne and Joe Camilleri are held in high regard. They have seen it all. They have done it all. And they’re still standing. Now they’re all coming together for the Time of My Life tour for Apia. Daryl Braithwaite was the lead singer of Sherbet before embarking on a solo career that has delivered 15 Top 40 singles. Ross Wilson fronted Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock and has been in the game for close to 50 years. He is a two-time ARIA Hall of Fame inductee. James Reyne served as the frontman of Australia Crawl before releasing his debut solo album in 1987. Joe Camilleri has recorded with Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons and The Black Sorrows and has produced a string of albums for some of Australia’s finest. Costa Hall @ GPAC - April 27 & The Capital, Bendigo - April 28.
Viva Nina Las Vegas Many readers will remember taking piano lessons. Some took them by choice; others were, eh, gently persuaded by their folks to do so. Nina Agzarian, more familiarly known as Nina Las Vegas, falls into the latter camp. All’s well that ends well though. With some classical piano lesson under her belt Nina found herself interning at triple j. This was back in 2004. As she was working in every department from design to the music library Nina was also remixing and producing and in 2007 she got the chance to present her own mixes. Now the Wagga Wagga-raised gal is one of the hottest names in the game. Along with Anna Lunoe and Bad Ezzy Nina formed the all-girl club DJ supergroup HOOPS and she has also racked up appearances at Splendour, Groovin’ the Moo and the Big Day Out. The Karova, Ballarat - March 16. .........................................................................
Duncan Graham and His Co-Accused The 2013 Castlemaine Fringe Festival has many treats in store including Duncan Graham and His Co-Accused who will be performing a show at The Bridge on March 22. Duncan Graham spent 20 years working his fingers to the bone in a bunch of Melbourne post-punk and gloomcore bands before finding a new music life in 2001. Was it maturity that led to his solo experiment? Was it that he was just too darn tired? Whatever the case may have been we are thankful for it as his solo experimentation eventually led to the blues ballads meets urban folk meets power pop beast of today. He has since lured a few members to the ranks: Paul Huntingford, Rex Watts, Bruce Armstrong and Jan Palethorpe. There has also been the release of four mighty fine albums. .........................................................................
Stephen K Amos in Geelong Stephen K Amos is a funny guy. Considering it is his job to be a funny guy that is a good thing. But there is something particularly funny about Amos. He is the kind of guy that could insult you and still have you in stitches. You know something though? He has never performed in Geelong. That is until now. *Applause. On March 23 the gentlemanly Stephen K Amos will perform at GPAC’s Playhouse Theatre. And he is only doing one show so don’t waste time. Do you need further convincing? In 2012 The Herald Sun wrote: “Slick, polished and professional, Amos delivered a memorable night of comedy, just as you would expect from a celebrated international comedian at the top of his game.” Bookings through gpac.prg.au. .........................................................................
Three, Two, One... Bombs Away Quick bite: Who do you want to spend Easter Thursday (March 28) with? How about you spend it with Bombs Away at Geelong’s Eureka Hotel? It will be a lot of fun. More fun then you will have at home with your loved ones. You know the mischief makers by now. Hell, they have remixed and messed with names including Cee Lo Green, Akon, Dirty Loud, Katy Perry, Mike Posner and Mind Electric. They have rocked it at festivals. They have rocked it at clubs. They have probably even rocked your bedroom. Now it is time to spend a night with them at the EH - don’t forget to bring them some chocolate eggs. .........................................................................
The Rise of Murdena Quick bite: Hailing from the Bellarine Peninsula, Murdena is the combined talents of brother-sister Annie-Rose and Hugh Maloney and friends Ivan Blacket and Daniel McKoy. Taking influence from artists including Justin Townes Earle and Mason Jennings, the band has won both the Queenscliff Music Festival’s Foot in the Door competition and the Tamworth Music Festival’s Battle of the Bands. Their music is a rollicking fusion of toe-tappin’ country dancehall, urban blues and folk rock. Martians Café, Deans Marsh - March 16.
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TALK OF THE TOWN! Blue Skies for Pete Murray
The Curtain Raises on Diesel
Quick bite: Good guy songman Pete Murray has been busy working his music magic around the country for the past few weeks and this blurb is a friendly reminder that he has shows coming up at Theatre Royal, Castlemaine on March 8 and Regent Multiplex, Ballarat on March 14. The tour is in support of Blue Sky Blue, his recently released album featuring the fine talents of Ash Grunwald, Scott Owen, Busby Marou, Bernard Fanning, Darren Middleton and Katie Noonan. Enjoy.
From being the love affection of Kylie Mole as the frontman for the Injectors to being a much-loved solo performer, Diesel has been in the game for a quarter of a century. Born Mark Denis Lizotte in Massachusetts, Diesel has gone by various names over the years but his music has remained soulful and heartfelt. Things took a solid step forward in 2005 when the singer-songwriter and guitarist released the live album Singled Out. Although a respected performer prior to the album’s release, the album and the subsequent touring would establish Diesel as a true solo performer. He has a CD collection worth of albums under his belt including 2012’s You Get There From Here. Regent Theatre, Ballarat - March 22; Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool - April 26; The Capital, Bendigo - April 27.
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MxPx Reminder Quick bite: Just in case you forget - but let’s face it, that ain’t likely - Washington’s finest MxPx has a show lined up at The Barwon Club, Geelong on March 10. The band’s journey began in the early 1990s when a few teenaged mates began jamming. In 1994 they released their debut album Pokinatcha and in 2012 they released their ninth studio album, Plans within Plans. After over two decades in the game the band has rightfully earned their place among the punk rock elite. .........................................................................
Unplugged Summer Series Here’s all the inside info on what has been happening with Geelong’s best competition for emerging musicians! Week one saw Bec and Georgia proceed through the first round on the Judge’s Choice, taking with them Alina and Lucy as Crowd Faves. Week two brought with it an amazing performance from Tane Emia Moore who we will be seeing in round two alongside Jordan Baily as was voted Crowd Favourite on the night. Revolution won the audience over in week three progressing to the next stage alongside this week’s Judges Choice of Alexis Naylor. This Unplugged series continues to raise the bar in regards to the callibre of talented local performers getting involved with the competition and there is plenty more on the way - with Andy Fortser, Cal Young, Ellen Porter, Grace Notes, Lyndal Barry, Olly Friend, Jackson Thomas and many more still to come in the final weeks of round one. For those of you keen to take on the Unplugged challenge and be in with a chance to win $1,000 cash, a session in a recording studio, and a feature story in Forte, there is still time! Unplugged have a limited number of late registration positions available so jump online and drop an email to manager@cityquarter.com.au for your chance to become the next big thing.
Turn on the Dirt River Radio They were given a little mention in another blurb but the lads behind Dirt River Radio are just too irresistible so we’re giving them their own little spiel. There were five special ones who were chosen to perform rock n roll / country in all its glory: Heath Brady, Cam ‘Darkside’ Adams, Anthony Casey, ‘Blind’ Mike Saunders and Danger Alexander. These five souls took their love of countrified American acts such as Gram Parsons and threw into the mix elements of AC/DC and Clutch. Their debut album Beer Bottle Poetry got things rolling, although in Europe it was repackaged as Come Back Romance, All is Forgiven. Their new album is Rock & Roll is My Girlfriend. Time to turn up the Dirt River Radio. The Barwon Club, Geelong - March 15.
arts:
Fidelis Boyer & the Black Passion Exhibition
Where and when is this exhibition taking place? 2 & 5 Cafe, Labuan Square, Norlane 3214. What is Passion.
the
exhibition
called?
Black
How long have you been putting together this particular collection for? 23 months. Tell us about ‘Black Passion’, you describe it as very personal and raw? Creating art work is ‘very personal’ for any artist and to exhibit, I see can and does get easier. When I say ‘raw’ I mean a particular branch of artist which my art has been described to run along side. Look to the works of Basquiat. Otherwise just fresh and courageous. What are some of the inspirations/ motivations for your works? Miro/Kandinsky and love Tim Storrier. You describe the collection as a celebration of ‘new life’, is there an element of overcoming a struggle present in these works? Yes and no. If you look to self portait 1,
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11, 111 you will see the pain/struggle/joy of entering into new life; via painterly direction. You said that you wanted to ‘keep the works hidden’, hence your choice of gallery. What did you mean by that? I am still in pain from DV. It’s a hard thing, but the journey is the key; my art is my source of control. All works are for sale at Cafe prices starting from $250. The coffee is excellent also! And the burgers-wow! Describe the collection in 30 words or less? Black Passion starts with “Rotuman Princess”, mixed media on paper, box framed/white, $250AUD, 16 pieces in total. No #2 is blue and gold. “Lets stop fighting”, No #11 “Lobotomy, 5 cent insertion”, this collection is a celebration of heroic new life. Why would you encourage people to get out and see the collection? Beauty vs ugly. Ugly does not exist when we live in the present moment. To see and look at this collection you will find a simple truth; essence of a moment, the present. For how long can people see your works? From March through till May at 2 & 5 Cafe, Labuan Square.
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Castlemaine Fringe Festival Turning 21 this year, the Castlemaine Fringe Festival is coming to you bigger and better than ever before in twenty-thirteen. With everything we have come to know and love from this biennial event (and then some) on the way from the CFF crew, audiences can expect to enjoy world-class street and theatre performance, music and visual art, poetry, dance and much more. A cultural feast for each and every one of your senses, the festival is being held from March 15 till March 24. We caught up with Festival Director, Scott Sanders to hear more about the weird and wonderful things that are on their way for this year’s Fringe Fest. Ok, Wow! - This year is your 21st birthday, making you one of Australia longest-running Fringe Festivals, take us back to the festival’s inception, where, when and how did this wonderful event start? In 1992 a group of local artists and residents felt the need to provide a platform to foster and promote alternative and local arts in Central Victoria. In direct contrast to the State Festival at the time, Castlemaine Fringe recognised the importance for providing opportunities for local artists and performers, as well as encouraging access to the wide range of arts and culture inherent in the Central Victorian arts community. The idea of open access, inclusive and affordable events began with the 1992 Fringe, Walking the Fish. Tell us about its evolution. Can you give us a brief overview of the Festival’s history? The festival was timed to coincide with the Castlemaine State Festival, both as a protest and to take advantage of the buzz of energy during Festival time. Hence the biennial nature of the festival. An extra festival was staged in the ‘off-year’, hence twelve festivals over 21 years. Each festival has had a unique theme and image but the vision of Local, Inclusive and Representative has been constant throughout. Directors and committee members are volunteers and the festival became an incorporated not-for-profit organisation after a few years. The Local focus of the festival is paramount - it’s not only a snapshot of the thriving arts community in our region, but events are taken into the local community, whether it’s a gig in a cafe garden, an exhibition in a shopfront or a theatrical performance in someone’s loungeroom. You guys have some fundraisers coming up, how important are they for the festival and how can people get involved? The majority of funding for each festival comes from our fundraising events. The festival simply cannot operate without the support of our community, either by in-kind volunteer support or as a patron to events. In most cases anyone can
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volunteer, no specific skills are necessary. And by coming along to a fundraiser event and showing your support (let’s face it, with some cold hard cash) you can help us ensure the highest quality of support to our local artists and performers. Keep an eye on the website for event details,www.castlemainefringe.org. au, www.facebook.com/CastlemaineFringe2013 and to volunteer contact Fringe HQ, 5472 2225 fringefest2013@gmail.com What sort of acts does the festival look to attract each year? Outline some of the wide variety of performers you put on? We have a variety of portfolios ranging from film, music, visual art, performance and literature. This year the fringe is host to over 70 musical acts, 40 visual arts exhibitions as well as a variety of films, performance and literature. We have submissions from both the local community as well as contributors from further a field. Highlights of the festival program this year include: Films: Sticky an animated short film on the Lard Howe Island stick insect, Transition Films Festival, and Aya Awakenings. Music:A varity of muical perfomaces from all genres including Celebrated local artist D.D Dumbo, Sarah Wilkinson- winner of many awards including the Malden Minstrel for Original Acoustic Performance. The Resignators soon to embark on Australian and International Tour, Rex Watts playing with Mick A’hearn and supporting Duncan Graham Visual Art by Mary Fairborn-Flegg the first ever illustrator for J.R Tolkins Lord of the Rings and Bill Sampson, who works with negative space to create his art. Performance by Sue Ingleton- The comic Stripped Back and Literature: a book signing and discussion with renowned author Alex Miller This is just a tiny snap shot of the acts on this festival’s bill! Be sure to check out the festival program for more information! Run over a series of venues, can you tell us about the festival lay out. Is there a main stage somewhere? The opening of the festival will be held on Western Reserve on Saturday the 16th from 1-6pm where a variety of bands will entertain. The festival then spills out onto the street and into the many venues around town. This year the fringe festival gives access to many venues you may not have entered before such as above the Post Office or in the Northern Hotel, Lot 19, The Theatre Royal, are among the many venues as are many Town Halls and Churches. What is the aim of the Fringe Festival?
When&Where: March 15 through 24 - Castlemaine Fringe Festival, Castlemaine Is it to provide alternative artists with an outlet for performance? The mission statement of the Castlemaine Fringe Festival is summed up in three words: Local Inclusive - Representative. In practice, this means: - a comprehensive, non-discriminatory platform showcasing local artistic and musical talent - affordable or free access to events spanning local subcultures - an integration of local artistic culture and values inherent in our community How is the festival received by the Castlemaine
township? After 21 years, the Castlemaine Fringe Festival is an integral aspect of the local arts calendar. It is recognised as catering to the substantial demographic of lower-income earning, part-time or full-time creative artists and artisans and ‘alternative’ artists who otherwise would not have the opportunity to exhibit or perform in their own local area. The high proportion of free and inexpensive events draws audiences who otherwise would not have the chance to experience the arts and culture within their own neighbourhood. With some significant sell-out events during the 2011 festival, we are confident that 2013 will see the same crowd numbers.
Following the launch of their new EP Warbirds at the Barwon Club in February, The Human Electric have set tongues about town wagging. Whilst they have been around the traps for a few years now, it feels as though it is just the tip of the iceburg for this punk-rock four-piece. Here is our conversation with bass player Dylan Snelling Can you tell us about how you guys got together in 2008? Introduce your fine selves? Well by the end of 2007 the band we were all in at the time had just lost its fifth member due to outside commitments, the four of us were determined to press on and start fresh with a new direction, name and approach to our sound. Why The Human Electric? Like all bands starting out we were throwing around potential names for a few weeks and then we came across The Human Electric after finding out it was the terminology for “the human body’s magnetic response to sound”. Fill us in on your latest E.P, Warbirds? Our latest record is something we are very proud of, its everything we set out to do this time round, spared no expense and never compromised on the sound we were going for. The process was completely natural and the most fun this band has ever had in a studio. I must say, it’s refreshing to listen to an E.P from an emerging band that isn’t all about indie-folk. How would
the human electric
you asked for it, we go it!
BY POPULAR DEMAND you guys describe your sound? And what musicians influence your music? Over the last couple of years we have all found a greater appreciation for the blues and southern rock, especially Ben, he brings a lot of new and exciting ideas to the table in regards to that kind of writing, with the rest of us being heavily influenced by 90’s punk rock and grunge... That pretty much sums up our sound. We accept that it is greatly different to what’s in and popular these days but we hope listeners can see where we are coming from and dig it as much as we do. Having the pleasure of supporting some fantastic international bands including Lydia & Ben Jorgenson plus some great Aussie ones (i.e Calling All Cars), who has been your favourite? How come? Personally I would have to say Calling All Cars. Those guys are everything we love about rock music, its loud, honest, heavy and still packs out venues across the country, the kind of thing you just don’t see rock bands accomplish anymore. If you could sit down to dinner with one person, dead, alive, or somewhere in between, who would it be and why? Hmm that’s a hard one haha... I’m pretty sure that if we could sit down for dinner and pick brains it would be along the lines of Tom Waits, Tom Petty and Brian Fallon, just to name a few. You guys recently played a gig at the B.C, now I’ve heard a
rumour it’s one of your favourite venues to play at. Why?
What other bands do you recommend we keep an eye on?
The BC will always be home to our band. We have all been going there to play or enjoy music for over ten years now. Its great to see the venue pumping again, just last weekend we played to a full room for our EP launch and on March 10 we will be back at the ol’ stomping ground to open for one of our all time favourite bands MXPX.
Geelong is producing some awesome bands/acts at the moment but I’d have to say the one artist to keep an eye out for would have to be Nathan Seeckts. If that dude is playing it is impossible not to watch. Also Melbourne rocker IKARII and My Echo.
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Lovin’ That Music By Rebecca McIntyre
When I was little, Mum always reassured me that when I grew up I could be anything I wanted to be. Then, when I turned 21...I called bullshit. I was not the most beautiful, nor the richest or most famous young woman in the world, hell I wasn’t even the favourite sibling. But not everybody reaches that point where they feel the need to call bullshit on their parent’s promises, and James Fava is a part of that minority; a young man who took almost every kid’s childhood belief in invincibility and ran with it.
It’s hard to nail down a clear description of the Love That Group other than to say they are a young collection of professionals with a finger dipped in almost every type of musical pie.
Alas, we are uncovering a young entrepreneur in our region who has already achieved what many fail to accomplish in a lifetime – to create a successful career doing what they love most. As co-founder and owner of the Love That Group (alongside business partner Adam Toffolon), James retells the tale of the company’s expansion from humble beginnings.
After two years of friendship with the Geelong night scene, Love That Group, headed by James, and with the assistance of good mate Matt Black, have decided to take up a more permanent residency and add a second nightclub to the company’s list of enterprises. Launching three weeks ago, Chinese Whispers replicates the genre of cheesy Asian pop culture brilliantly - from the outlandish comic strip wallpaper on entry to the Maneki-Nekos waving to you from the tops of stairwells, it feels more like an orient-inspired Melbourne bar than a Geelong nightclub.
For those unfamiliar with the Love That Group, it is an umbrella company for various creative enterprises initiating from the Western suburbs of Melbourne. Sheltered by this company is Werribee’s Mynt Lounge, the Love That Music collective events organisation and artist roster, the newly established record company, Fall Street Records and most recently, Geelong’s very own Chinese Whispers. James Fava is the brains behind the operation.
“Love That Music started six years ago because we wanted to run some parties but no one would give us a go,” James explains. “So we started running boat cruises for a max of three hundred people. That lead to hosting Thursday nights at Mynt Lounge, and ultimately owning the venue.” This is when things kicked into overdrive and business started to boom for LTM. With an elaborate roster including talented DJs Rob Pix, Yasumo and J Heasy, an Annual National Schoolies tour, stage hosts at Summadayze, and managing local events such as Eureka’s Massive and The Barking Dog’s Knock Knock parties, it was clear that James and the close network responsible for operating the Love That Group were onto something special.
When asked where the concept of Chinese Whispers stemmed from James describes a principle, or an approach to business, as opposed to an expected fascination with dragons or some other token Asian icon; although, he does insist that one day, we work on the reinvention of Pokemon cards.
“Three years ago we got to a stage where we were really sick of, and exhausted with our traditional marketing avenues. We were bored of how we were promoting our events. This was at a time where we were all being flooded with social media outlets. So we came up with the concept of Chinese Whispers,” explains James. To us, this consists of a group of ‘Whisperers’ who are personally selected by James and his team because they portray all the lovely qualities you want, in what is fundamentally, a promoter of the company. These Whisperers are responsible for delivering personalised messages to their likeminded networks about what’s happening with Love That Music, their artists, their events and their venues. The end result being a great crowd of people at Love That Music-affiliated events. “I don’t care if they [Whisperers] have one friend or
one million friends. It’s all about who they are, how driven they are... there’s much more longevity in that,” James explains. James believes that the continual success and opportunities presented to Love That Music are directly linked to the original Chinese Whispers philosophy, that “good people attract good people”, and hence we arrive at the venue name. So what’s next on the cards for James and his blooming company? (Apart from cementing Chinese Whispers’ quickly established reputation as the most exciting nightspot in Geelong) - Hosting the Prodigy stage at next weekend’s Future Music Festival of course. Perhaps some day after that, a new music festival down the Coast. Oh, and of course, spurring the world-dominating comeback of Pokemon cards.
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down to business:
Scott Dumbell of Jetts Fitness By Rebecca McIntyre
With a last name like Dumbell you would assume a career in the fitness industry would be a given. It hasn’t always been the case for our region’s soul franchisee of Jetts Fitness centres, as Scott like many young men, started out in the field of hospitality. When asked what it was that caused the change of direction, Scott recalls a few key turning points - “I started out doing bar work and security work, and I actually got hit in the face pretty badly. It was quite a bad injury so when I got out of hospital I basically decided on a change in career path,” he retells. Scott Dumbell (centre) receiving the award for being voted Victoria's Best Jetts in 2012, with Jetts founder and managing director Brendan Levenson and Jetts group managing director Adrian McFedries
Scott and his then girlfriend, now wife, and another couple, decided to open what was at the time, one of Geelong’s only lounge bars. Whilst venue ownership and management was in some aspects a new direction for Scott, he continued on with the strong link to the hospitality industry. During his time operating the successful venue which we now know as Beav’s Bar, Scott started training to become a fully qualified PT. “After all, I was working hospitality so that was only at night time. This was something I could do during the day,” Scott explains. Scott soon gained employment with a local gym and moved up the ranks gaining experience in all aspects of the fitness industry - “I got a job at a gym, then as a group fitness instructor, then as a personal trainer, then went on to floor manager for the gym, then into sales and sales managing. And finally club manager. By the time I reached this point, it was almost as though the next step, or the natural progression was to open my own gym,” Scott explains. In 2008, Scott got wind of a new fitness franchise that was popping up through out Queensland which from all accounts, appeared to be operating in close alignment with how he had envisioned that his own gym would run. Flying up to meet with the entrepreneurs, Scott signed up on the spot. “After working in the sales side of things, selling memberships to all kinds of people, I realised that the same objections continued to come up. ‘Oh, I haven’t got the time, its too expensive, and I don’t want to be locked into a contract,’ I’d hear again and again. Basically, with Jetts every person’s excuse for not wanting to join a gym was eliminated,” says Scott. Then wala! We have Jetts Geelong West. Well not quite, Scott explains that finding the perfect venue took over twelve months and during this time Scott also became a first-time father. Two new babies in twelve months was hectic for Scott as business at the Geelong West franchise boomed in the initial six months. No contracts, 24 hour access and cheap membership fees seemed to be ticking all the boxes for not only the region’s health concious, but for the procrastinators who’d finally decided there was no excuse left to stop them strapping on the boots. When asked what Scott has taken away from his time in the industry, and the growth of his business to both Torquay, and now Belmont, he describes the importance of ‘staying ahead of the curb’. To sustain membership levels and continue the superiority of the region’s Jetts Fitness centres, Scott works continuously on his professional development. Although, a fitness convention in LA next month doesn’t sound like too much hard work to me. Scott’s dedication towards the ongoing success of the Jetts franchise has reaped it’s rewards with a reign of achievements in 2011. ‘Winner of National Club of the Year’, ‘Franchisee of the Year’ and ‘Victoria/Tasmania Club of the Year’ were awards determined by membership numbers, profitability, service standard and facilities - All of which are now proud tokens of the elite standard the region’s Jetts centres are bringing to both the local and national industry. A naturally athletic person from the get-go, Scott laughs that he’s a lucky one, and actually enjoys coming to the gym every day. But for those of us who enjoy the benefits of exercise, but not the actually task, Scott suggests we bring a friend down to the new Belmont facility and take the angst out of the dreaded first session. “It’s about having fun. Its not a massive gym so people feel comfortable here,” says Scott. Enticing you that little bit more, you can now save $89 on the initial sign up fee so for the ins and outs on how the centre works, or to get on board with the Jetts movement pop down and see Scott or one of the friendly staff at Pakington Street Geelong West, Bristol Avenue Torquay, or the newly opened High Street Belmont facility.
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ballarat column:
FREE CLASSIFIEDS
Venue Review: The Babushka Lounge Cafe
SEND YOUR INFO TO: editorial@fortemag.com.au or p.o. box 1388, geelong 3220 or fax 5229 0318 FOR INDIVIDUAL USE ONLY, NOT FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.
59 Humffray Street North, Ballarat. By Daniel Lock.
People familiar with The Babushka Cafe Lounge Gallery already know what a little gem just inside Ballarat CBD it is; to the people unfamiliar with it, you’re about to find out what to expect from this quaint artistic venue. The bar is operated by Ballarat lover and creator of both music and art, Garth Horsfield. Also known for his band Immaculata, Garth has seen and experienced a lot of the arts Ballarat produces. He became greatly appreciated when opening Babushka to host the themes he enjoys and now shares with the wider community. Upon entering the venue one instantly takes in the art that always graces the walls of The Babushka Lounge and is enveloped in the relaxing feel presented by the decor. To the immediate right is the stage, the back centre of the main room is the bar and in-between the two is a vast array of couches, chairs, stools and coffee tables and also a retro table gaming system that has a tendency to make noise at inappropriately amusing times. When reaching the bar, having maybe stopped to peruse one or two of the art pieces that summons attention, Garth is usually the man you’ll be greeted by. The way he dresses and his demeanour also command interest most of the time and can be confronting to unworldly eyes, but observant people will quickly see how much Garth cares for everyone willing to get behind the arts. The bar has various spirits hanging from their crannies, a few specialty beers on offer displayed and a nice little discount for students. The feature that takes pride of place is the absinthe fountain. Garth is a connoisseur of absinthe and usually has two or three imported types to choose from which he’ll expertly prepare for you if such tastes tickle your fancy. If you ask where you might have a cigarette, you’ll be directed down the back corridor where you’ll find the toilets and upon exiting the main building you’ll follow a path to a courtyard with a few tables, seating and usually many happy local residents swapping stories,
music, or art tips. There’ll also be a furry Babushka celebrity who may take a liking to you and ask you to throw something so he can fetch it for you so that you can throw it again; Mr Barnaby, Garth’s widely loved pet. The Babushka Lounge also has a menu with many treats in store for the hungry person, or people, quite capable of quashing ones appetite. In the evenings, the place comes alive with music and merriment. Garth has a good FOH system that can enhance either the rockiest bands, or the quietist acoustics. The sheer amount of uniqueness and variety each different musical artist brings to the stage never fails to surprise. So if you live in Ballarat or are just visiting, be sure to check out what’s being held at The Babushka Bar for it’ll be sure to interest and entertain you for the evening, if not the whole weekend. The Babushka Lounge Cafe is open from Wednesday through to Sunday. Wednesday is open jam night unless otherwise stated on the website. In the near future The Babushka Lounge will play host to: Thursday March 7: Month of Sundays FREE ENTRY Friday March 8: Birahny Lawrence EP launch $5 Saturday March 9: Gallery Dillon Naylor Exhibition and Monte Casino & Gerard Rush $5 entry Thursday March 14: The Savages David Grimson (door price TBC) Friday March 15: Rachael Brennan (door price TBC) Saturday March 16: Peter and Christine Allan (door price TBC) Wednesday March 20: Jamie and Nate – Lovecraft $5 entry Friday March 22: Dan Rolls (door price TBC) For more information go to http:// babushkalounge.com
Geelong rock band looking for lead vocalist. We are a Geelong based original band looking for a lead vocalist, have a lot of experience and heaps of great original music waiting to be sung. Influences: pearl jam, chili peppers, foo fighters, nirvana, led zep, sound garden. Contact Ben 0432049231. Experienced Lead Guitarist Wanted. Top 40 Coverband. 70s 80s 90s and current. Based in Geelong. Must have commitment. Please Call Mark on 0438836469 or email at pudge_gypsy33@
hotmail.com Singer wanted for acoustic covers duo. Must like 90’s British bands and not into songs your “normal” covers bands play. Think Oasis, Morrissey & The Smiths, Libertines, Pulp, Blur, Verve, and similar Aussie & American groups. Nothing serious to start with but possible gigging if we sound great! Age no barrier and male / female encouraged to contact. Contact Liam: britpopcovers@gmail. com or 0430904407 Band Members Wanted: Looking for band members
between the ages of 1619 years of age for pop group.Looking for bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals and synth player. If interested, please contact 0417575237. Hard Rock Covers Band with experienced, solid, bass player and drummer team requires guitarist with skill, awesome sound, and decent equipment. We have full rehearsal live room, pro gear, and all recording equipment. Project will involve gigging, recording, and working on original material as well as edgy covers. Age no barrier, but must be directable team player and have own transport. Carlos: 0409493521 Wanted: Male Vocalist, Two Guitarists Lead/ Rythm,Keyboard,Drummer to form an Original Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Band,Kevin Phone 0352757689, Email linnums@ optusnet.com.au Vocalist Wanted: Rock/alternative band, currently consisting of guitar, bass, drums. In search of a clean vocalist preferably with experience. Influences: Tool, A Perfect Circle, Karnivool, 12 stones, Godsmack, etc. Contact Dean 0431067758 Singer For Rock Covers Band Needed. New project that will incorporate some originals. We have large acoustically enhanced rehearsal room inc. P.A and all recording equipment. Project will involve live gigs/shows, recording, and working on orginal material. Age no barrier, but must be team player with own equip and transport. Covering rock/ pop/grunge/hair-band/ glam. You will be working with experienced team.
Carlos: 0409 493521 Photographer Wanted for band photos. Semniprofessional ok. Call Josh 0430971319 Wanted, 40+ y.o. Muso’s to form a fun Rock Band. Bass, Drummer, Lead Guitar, Keyboards or other welcome. To play Classic Rock from the 70’s onwards. Call or Text Nick on 0408359821. Geelong Vocalist Looking for guitarist, bass and drummer to form contemporary blues/ rock band. Experienced players required.Ph: Craig 0404054045 or email transform_pt@ yahoo.com.au Singer/songwriter looking for musicians to perform at festivals and venues drummer, bass player, guitarist & key boards player must be 40 years + must be experienced and professional please phone or email david 0417661299 davidwatson62@ y7mail.com Bass Player Wanted Or Guitarist to share Bass playing. We are a Friendly Bunch of 40 YO Boys who love our music and do 70’s rock and some originals. No pressure just dedications. Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, ACDC, Bad CompanyStyle of Music..Please contact John: 0408179916 For Sale: Cort EVL-Z4 Electric Guitar. Great guitar for the beginner/ intermediate player who wants more bang for their buck! Fitted with two EMG humbuckers and set up with super low action. Great for hard rock, metal and punk! Selling for $350 but open for negotiations: email at liam-guitar@ hotmail.com
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McAlister Kemp By Natalie Rogers
If you are anywhere near the Getaway Hotel in Geelong this Friday mosey on down for a taste of country music’s hottest duo McAlister Kemp. Still buzzing from the recent news that they’ll be replacing Billy Ray Cyrus at this year’s CMC Rocks The Hunter Festival, they are sure to put on a hell of a show. I spoke to Drew McAlister who, alongside mate and fellow musician Troy Kemp, makes up the dynamic pair. “We are coming down to play the Gateway Hotel - we haven’t played out that way for quite a while,” Drew said. “We’ve got a good following down there and we’ll be doing a bunch of gigs on the way - Goulburn, Canberra and Melbourne.” After a jam-packed start to the year, which included opening the Golden Guitar Awards in Tamworth, their first ARIA nomination and, hot on the heels of the recent announcement, McAlister Kemp are taking the Country Proud Tour on the road and they can’t wait. “It’s quite incredible, everything is really happening for us this year!” Drew gushes. Their reputation for producing high energy country rock seems to have grown, attracting the attention of those in the industry and fans alike. “It’s quite amazing! We’ve done CMC for a couple of years in a row, and we definitely have a following there. Rob Potts, the guy who puts on CMC Rocks, called our management to offer us the spot and we couldn’t believe it,” Drew explained. “He also gave us the chance to tour with Alan Jackson. Miranda Lambert pulled out at the last minute and we got to replace her on that tour, so the same thing has
happened again. It’s the 7:45pm spot, which doesn’t get any better really - we go on right before Big and Rich, so we really want to thank everyone on Facebook who have supported us and voted for us to fill the spot!” 2013 is shaping up to be McAlister Kemp’s busiest so far, as writing for their third album has begun even before the dust has settled on the Country Proud tour. “Troy and I have a whole bunch of ideas that we have been putting down,” Drew revealed. “We just finished a writing trip with [singer, songwriter] Michael Carr up in Fraser Island – we’ve written a few songs with him. We will mix it up again like we did with the last album, so while we finish this tour we are gearing up to fly over to Nashville in April. We’ve planned to stay for two weeks which is exactly what we did for the Country Proud (2012) album.” “We were overwhelmed by the response from people for our first album, All Kinds Of Tough (2011), and we knew that if you can’t back it up, you can became a one hit wonder and neither of us wanted to do that. So we figure now that we’re on to our third, if we can do this one right we may have a career!” Drew joked. Both standing at over six feet five, Drew and Troy can really work a room and capture a crowd as they belt out hit after hit of their award winning albums, All Kinds Of Tough and Country Proud, at full volume. “No one wants to play a song that they don’t feel one hundred percent about, because if we’re not feeling it, you can guarantee the audience won’t be feeling it either.” So check out the guys for yourself this Friday at the Gateway, before we lose them to Nashville for good!
When&Where: Friday March 9 - Gateway Hotel, Corio
the go set By Tex Miller
Over the last ten years since forming, they have become one of the biggest party bands in the Australian music scene, with six albums under their belt, a massive tour schedule this year including dates in China and America, I sat down with Justin Keenan, lead vocalist and guitarist for The Go Set, ahead of their performances in Queenscliff and Geelong over the upcoming month. With a gig at the Uniting Church, this coming weekend, the atmosphere and intimacy of the venue is what Justin believes will make the gig an extra special experiences for fans and punters alike. “We really wanted to do a gig in an environment that has really nice acoustics, and the main concept behind this show was that we wanted to do something a little bit different with a more family-oriented feeling where parents can bring the kids and make it a bit of a dinner and show. It’s a stripped back affair in regards to instrumentation with upright bass, accordion, mandolin and guitar to name just a few. It’ll be a great show and everyone should come down to see The Go Set in acoustic mode,” Justin says about their church performance. After drawing inspiration from watching Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day fame play guitar at one of their Australian concerts in 1995, Justin knew that the guitar was the instrument for him. At first, his brother thought he was crazy and laughed in his face like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard, but Justin was out to prove them all wrong. “I went
Shane Howard By Tex Miller
Tapestry, After The Goldrush, Harvest, what do these albums have in common? They have been highly successful on the Billboard 200 Album charts and over the past forty years, through constant listening these albums have been the sound track or fabric to our lives. Shane Howard, for the second time in as many years, was lucky enough to get the opportunity to tour with the 70’s piano legend and now has landed a support slot for the Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Day on the Green show on March 16 at The Hill in Waurn Ponds. Opening for Carole King, in Shane’s mind, was a complete honour, due to the legendary status that she holds. “I really wanted to do that tour to pay homage to a great songwriter. She’s written 100 songs that have all been hits. That’s an amazing achievement. Her album Tapestry was on the billboard charts for six years, it was the biggest selling album of the 20th century until Thriller. What I really love about her is that after all the success and the fame; she stepped out of the limelight and became a mother. It’s really rare to see that happen after the succes,” Shane said. With knowledge that Neil Young was coming to Australia, Shane Howard (amongst many other musicians) applied to Neil’s management and although, Shane didn’t want to do a whole tour, A Geelong show was a definite must. “Geelong was where Goanna came together and it was really our launching pad and it’s where we cut our teeth in the
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out the next day and bought a guitar and started to teach myself to play it however it took me two weeks to realise that I was playing it upside down because I’m left handed. A lot of my early bands, were Ska bands, because the upstroke was a lot easier than the down but once I got my hands on a left handed guitar. I never looked back,” Justin revealed about the early days of his musical career. Writing complete songs and arrangements, for the band in the early days, The Go Set have become a lot more of a collaborative
band than they were previously. Justin feels that his song writing methods come completely into fruition when other aspects of his life are put on hold for a moment. “I feel that I write best when I’m the most useless at life (laughs). When I’m most creative, I am most dysfunctional. For me to keep my sh*t together, I need to take space away from my day to day life and go and sit down, read and play my guitar and forget about the other mundane tasks,” Justin revealed. The Go Set with their intriguing instrumentation are often compared to the Dropkick Murphy’s, The Pogues and The Clash to name a few, yet The Gaslight Anthem (known most notably for their song ‘American Slang’)
are a more current influence on the band. “The songs that I am writing at the moment are very influenced by a band called The King Blues and The Gaslight Anthem, I am working on a solo release currently and have about 16 songs at the moment which I’m looking to get into the studio to form a solo album in the near future. 2013 promises to be hectic (as always) and I hope to see you out on the road somewhere!” When&Where: March 10 AT Queenscliff Uniting Church & MARCH 17 AT the Barwon Club
late 70’s and it’s really lovely to come back and do a show like this with Neil Young, who is an artist whose music has touched us all in one way or anything. I think this is a great way to pay homage to one of the great artists of our era,” Shane said about the support slot at The Hill. Whether it’s the Buffalo Springfield era, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Crazy Horse or his solo career, everybody has their favourite Neil Young album and although he likes Harvest, Shane can’t pick a favourite. “I first heard Neil Young in 1970/71 when ‘Heart Of Gold’ came out, when I first heard that mouth harp blare out on the radio. Harvest as an album is so big (like Tapestry) that they are hard to ignore. I don’t think that you can favour one facet of his music over another. I love it all; I think that you put that entire music together to create a true picture of an artist at work. But at times, it can be tender and gentle, with songs such as ‘Comes a Time’, ‘Heart of Gold’ or ‘Man needs a Maid’, yet he can still ‘Keep on Rocking in the Free World’,” Shane says about his admiration for Young’s extensive back catalogue. Throughout his musical career, Shane has constantly been on the journey to become a great songwriter. In the start of Goanna, he didn’t think they would achieve the success and acclaim that they have and thinks that rather ‘it was a boat full of hope’. Still on that journey for the great song, If you’ve got tickets to the Neil Young with Crazy Horse show, you’re certainly in for one legendary night of songs.
When&Where: March 16 - The Hill Winery, Waurn Ponds.
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FORTE FOCUS:
Career Path 101 By Tex Miller
Have you just finished an Arts/Journalism degree at Uni, and are struggling to find a job? Well then, you’re in the same boat as me. Having finished my last year of my BA Media and Communication/Journalism degree in 2012, I, like you, am joining the thousands of other graduates out there, looking for that start. However, don’t lose concentration of the end goal just yet. Although you may be dreaming of a rich and famous lifestyle whilst writing for the likes of Rolling Stone and NME, from advancing through the smaller publications to the big time, you will be aptly qualified with the skills to write and interview at the highest level. Getting that start may include part time work within another avenue of employment, however, through persistent determination and a willingness to do the hard yards, you will soon reap the rewards. I alike many others am willing to take on casual work and continually evolving my skill set to eventually be able find the career that I want, but given recent events and the way in which the media industry in Australia is headed, as a first year graduate, it is beginning to become more and more difficult as the demand for more positions grows higher each week. Although not hard evidence, it has been rumoured that for every vacant job position within the media industry there are around 150 applicants. With such a large amount of students looking for employment, there is now the requirement than to just tick the boxes. Research conducted by Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) in 2012 revealed that 12.5% of surveyed employers recruited no graduates within that calendar year due to mainly financial considerations and budgetary constraints. As Lisa Waller, former journalist with The Australian puts it, the way in which graduates have a greater chance of gaining first time employment, is through taking a proactive mindset within preparing your portfolio and application for employers. “Although there is a real crisis within journalism and hundreds of journalist are being laid off around the world, you can’t be too negative about that because where those jobs within what we call traditional media are disappearing, I think new jobs are appearing across other platforms. Graduates now have to be quite entrepreneurial in terms of the way that they think; the main thought should be ‘how and where can I get my start’,” Lisa said.
My journalism career started as a naïve teenager. I had no idea of the limited opportunity that Journalism would present just a mere five years later. With an opportunity to write, courtesy of the Geelong Advertiser ‘Hot Shots’ program, it wasn’t long before I was mixing it with now, renowned local bands Sambrose Automobile and The Rustys. Since taking to journalism in year 10, two things have always remained in my mind through each new interview or networking opportunity that presents itself. 1. If you enjoy what you’re doing, then you don’t actually have to work a day in your life’ and 2. Be nice to everybody, because you can’t be certain of his or her presence within the industry. The more and more you think about it, this seems to be obvious advice, but next time you’re in an important situation, just take a step back and remind yourself of it. Having the opportunity to speak with Tony Chalkley, one of the main in Media and Communication lecturers at Deakin University about the demise of jobs, it soon became apparent that the trickiest part of gaining employment is within showing the skills you have learned. “Selling things like internships, overseas experiences and other extra curricular activities, always give you an advantage anywhere. It’s a really crowded workplace for graduates in all disciplines and at the moment, universities are pumping out graduates and there just aren’t enough positions at the moment. You need to be able to show knowledge and skills within both the digital and analogue mediums.” Tony states. It seems quite unfair (in the eyes of a student that is) that you spend $20k, which you put on your HECS, and then straight out of University, you are unable to gain an opportunity to develop the skillset, you have spent the last three years of your life working on. Yet, there are always opportunities around, for those that are keen and willing to learn. Gaining the opportunity after finishing high school to begin writing for Forte was yet another great prospect for expanding my portfolio. From chatting with some of the biggest artists in Australia including the likes of John Butler, Xavier Rudd, The Beautiful Girls and Regurgitator, to name just a few, I have over the past four years built up an extended back catalogue of work. In an article, which appeared in The Australian last year, which ranked each of the universities
blank thankless air Blair Hall
They have nothing to say and neither do I. I still don’t know what My Bloody Valentine are singing. I think it’s because they have nothing to say. Regrettably, neither do I. I thought that after ten years of obsessing I’d be able to offer an incisive analysis of their body of work, but I’m a little confused. I’m confused because I’ve seen them perform live and they weren’t particularly great. Since I’m used to being let down, being that I live in this absurd world, I recovered quickly from this slight, but now I’m bereft of insight. Deflated. I’ve tried reading some more about the band’s revival or tabulating my reactions to criticisms of their works, but I feel nothing. I’m perpetually suspended in the space they created in the last 20 minutes of their set at ATP: I’ll Be Your Mirror. They are notorious for being one of the loudest touring acts in the world and also for being complete dicks about it; they send off each set with 20 minutes of noise twice the perceived loudness of your life before. They are that person you know that always shouts even though you’re in a quiet room. You didn’t even engage them in this conversation and now you have the urge to cover your ears or simply leave. You’re unnerved. There is only a lamp to provide illumination. The warm light makes you feel drowsy when you look into it for too long. He’s really into health. At first you think you’re comfortable with it, but then he starts asking you if you’re
getting enough protein. You spot the large tub of Whey Protein Isolate and realise that you really are in the wrong room. You ask yourself if you should bludgeon him with the lamp. If you use the lamp you must get the job done quickly, as he is most definitely stronger than you. He said it: he’s into health. You relate less and less as he dances between awkward pauses and the loudness emanating from his gaping mouth. Flecks of saliva intermittently land on your face. He’s standing too close. This is such a large room. Here is an intimacy you don’t share even with close family. As you attempt to find something to do in the other areas of the room he follows. “I think that Hugh Jackman really doesn’t deserve his oscar nomination” echoes in your head. At breaking point, you begin to seep inwards into your subconscious mind. You have not seen this much blood since you cut your hand on your favourite serrated Victorinox paring knife, but at least the large room inside is quiet. The hardest part of killing is not the act itself, but the placement of the body. The pacing of the cleanup, likewise, is crucial. Thoughts and feelings are even harder to kill, but it’s the only way you can keep living here. I don’t think that this constitutes journalistic material, but I’m not a journalist so regardless it’s slim pickings insofar as inspiration goes.
That and the part of me that strives to be a better writer is the worst part of me. Who am I to judge? Kevin Shields does not know what constitutes music and one can tell, but the significance of his contributions to the music world are no less valid. As a body of work My Bloody Valentine engage us in a dialogue with creationthrough-destruction. The work destroys form and content. The music hovers and breathes like a Rothko, threatening to swallow us whole. Shields does not add turpentine to the canvas; nothing he paints is thin. Motifs enter and drag their tails on the ground under the weight of the mile-wide vibrato. Establishing this, the new record, ‘m b v’, is a wonderful retrospective of everything they said in interviews in the last 22 years about what the next My Bloody Valentine album would be like; a high-definition restatement of the forms and timbres of 1991‘s ‘Loveless’ combined with momentary lapses in Jungle and Drum ‘n’ Bass in the groundbreaking third act (at least insofar as their career is concerned). My Bloody Valentine is music for lovers and I always felt that what Kevin Shields was doing in that respect was art beyond compare. To paraphrase Yasuhito Higuchi, I always felt that he was writing songs for lovers without words. Lovers without a past or a future that exist in one certain moment, like a psychic photograph.
according to how they perform in terms of the graduate employment, Deakin University ranks at number 24. If you are just starting your degree this week, this is not a call for alarm due to the fact of a 2010 survey by The Good Universities Guide, which found that on average 76.6 percent of 2010 bachelor degree graduates found full time work within four months and that graduates who completed a combined or double degree were better off than those with just one.
Regardless of where you are within your search for that one job, there is always an alternate path to reach your dreams. 80’s rockers Journey were right after all, ‘Don’t stop believin’, hold onto that feeling’. Try and surround yourself within the media and journalism industry as much as you can, and gain as much experience as possible, because it will always be beneficial to your career as a journalist.
TOO HEAVY TO HUG PAUL S TAYLOR
chris cruz
Punk rock is back at the Barwon Club this weekend! Saturday night sees Hopes Abandoned, queer punks Muscle Mary and lovely lezzie punks Liquor Snatch tear up the stage in a display of dirty, snotty, colourful punk rock, while Sunday afternoon sees a matinée performance by Washington pop-punk supremos MXPX! Yowsa! The Foo Fighters’ hiatus has ground to a halt after just four months. Just when fans got used to the idea of doing without the band for the foreseeable future, Dave Grohl announces in an interview that the band has written its next studio album and will be back in the studio soon. Most bands take a few months off at a time without saying ANYTHING, let alone announcing an indefinite hiatus. I guess Dave is just too rock n’ roll to rest on his laurels for five minutes. Well UP THE PUNX! has been and gone for another year- will the Aussie punk fest be making a NATIONAL run next year? We can only hope! Speaking of punk (and in this case, also rock and metal), this years’ HELLFEST is set to pe a whopper of an event: NOFX, Bad Religion, Gallows, The Casualties and Converge join the likes of KISS, Danzig, Bullet For My Valentine, KORN, Whitesnake and ZZ Top, amongst many, many others. Is it worth the airfare to France? All signs point
to Yes! Davey Havok (AFI) is about to release his first novel, Pop Kids. It’s the first part of a planned trilogy inspired by rubbish pop culture, music, fashion models, reality television, sex, drugs and vegan banana bread. Don’t look at me, I didn’t make all that up- HE did! So I guess what he’s REALLY saying is “Don’t hold your breath for another AFI record.” Which isn’t a very smart move, considering the last record tanked and fans are jumping ship at an alarming rate. Slayer have officially parted ways (for the second time) with original drummer and co-founding member Dave Lombardo over a reported financial dispute. Bummer! Um, what’s with this new trend of dudes from “punk” bands playing “angsty, heartfelt” acoustic solo shows? I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that it sucks. You know what it sounds like to me? It sounds unfinished, boring, contrived, and generic. Enough, already, especially if you dress like a lumberjack. After more than a decade, New Jersey based music festival Bamboozle has folded. It started out as a punk/alternative event, but slowly became more commercial, adding artists like Bon Jovi and Kesha into the mix. So it’s really no great loss now. Until next time, go see a band, read a book, dust off your skateboard, get out there and LIVE a little!
Welcome to THTH, Forte’s premier source of all things heavy, hard, fast and metal. By the time you lay your hands on this issue of Forte the Melbourne Soundwave festival will have bolded in, torn apart the Showgrounds, and then left us all gagging for more. So let us look to the future months of 2013 for speculation on some upcoming releases because nothing is more fun than speculating. March will see releases from Soilwork, Orange Goblin, an Anthrax EP of covers, Sevendust, Suicidal Tendencies, Six Feet Under, Kvelertak and Lordi. April will give us releases from Amorphis, Toxic Holocaust, Volbeat, Drowning Pool, Deep Purple, Cathedral, Killswitch Engage, Rob Zombie and Ocean. May has albums on offer from The Dillinger Escape Plan, Immolation, Dark Tranquility and Airbourne (what?). Not much else has been mentioned after May which is kinda good because I can tell you about this Canadian band called Pomegranate Tiger (I know, how wicked is that name!). Their debut album Entities was released about a month ago. They’re basically an instrumental prog band, not too heavy, not too soft, and they’ve got so many riffs it’s not funny. They’re kinda like Dream Theater without the vocals about, whatever Dream Theatre lyrics are about, I dunno, sobriety or some shit. Which is good because Pomegranate Tiger (PG) say a lot more without any vocals, they go from chugging riffs to sweeping melody and
everywhere in between and leave it up to you to fill in the gaps. Somehow PG have been slotted into the “djent” sub-subgenre but they’re a lot deeper and a lot varied than that. If you ever wanted proof that the world is completely unjust, listen to PG and you’ll notice their vast individual talent and how together they’re pretty darn amazing. Then go onto YouTube and search for the latest fad/thing/waste of space called ‘Harlem Shake’ and wonder why that has 18 million views compared to PG’s ‘New Breed’ which has 13k views. What I truly like about PG is the fact you can listen to them while playing Fruit Ninja on your phone. My theory is that these guys are massive Fruit Ninja fans and that Pomegranate at the end of each game was something they just needed to pay homage to. In fact, playing Fruit Ninja to Pomegranate Tiger makes the game even better. I guess it’s the new way to sync your music to other media, kinda like that rumour a Pink Floyd album syncs up to The Wizard Of Oz. In Other News Holy Grail have just released their second full length album, Ride The Void. If you buy it through JB Hi-Fi online then you’ll go into the draw to win a kick-arse guitar, it’s an ESP V-300 valued at $1149! Opeth will be at The Palace on Thursday March 14. Tool will play Rod Laver on Saturday April 27. Tickets to Black Sabbath’s Monday April 29 show at Rod Laver Arena are still available. Deftones will play The Palace on Saturday May 18.
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Brendan Cowell Save Your Legs By Anthony Morris
For a sports-mad country, Australia makes surprisingly few sports films and fewer still become hits. One of the few to make it was the 2005 documentary Save Your Legs, which followed the suburban Melbourne cricket club The Abbotsford Anglers on an eventful tour of India. A hit documentary is one thing; turning the story into a feature film is a journey in itself, which is where writer / actor Brendan Cowell comes in. Best known as an actor for his work in Beneath Hill 60 and I Love You Too, and as a writer for The Slap and Love My Way, Cowell was approached by the producers to write and co-star (alongside Stephen Curry and Damon Gameau) in the feature film adaptation after revealing his love of cricket to one of them at, of all places, the Sundance Film Festival. For Cowell, what attracted him to the project wasn’t so much the story as the characters. “It’s a documentary so it didn’t have a narrative, that’s what we had to come up with. But it’s the spirit of the team, there’s something very charming about the Abbotsford Anglers, and something very Australian about the fact that it’s not so much the athletic side of cricket that they’re focusing on, it’s more about the banter and the high quality of luncheon spreads.” It didn’t exactly hurt that the film’s theme – men in their thirties realising that it’s finally time to grow up – was one that resonated with him. “Like my mother always says, when you travel with people you truly learn about them, and I felt that the notion of these men going over
Kingfisha By Tex Miller
Since winning the Triple J Unearthed Roots competition in 2010, Kingfisha have become one of the biggest reggae acts in the country. Their infectious grooves and tantalising rhythm sections is what has made them one of the hardest working bands of recent times. Their debut E.P. entitled Promises, which was released in 2008 to critical acclaim, led to (now) legendary Triple J announcer - Richard Kingsmill - describing Anthony’s vocals like melted butter and honey. “To be able to finally gain recognition for all our hard work is truly great. Being a reggae band in Australia, it’s not the easiest genre to break into the Triple J market given the wide array of music that they play, but having their support all along the way, has made things a lot easier. We worked a lot on the songs before we got out to play shows, and I think that has really helped a lot, with perfecting our sound,” Anthony said about their beginnings as a six-piece Queensland outfit. From the very first beat of ‘Looking Glass’, the opening track of their album, you can’t help but tap your feet and groove away to the rhythms that are being produced. With a much more polished sound to the recording in comparison to their EP, Anthony feels this is due to the inclusion of having Paulie B (respected producer, most notable for his work with The Beautiful Girls) along for the ride. “Essentially, the first EP was recorded live over a
MxPx By Xavier Fennell
Last year, Punk Rockers’ MxPx celebrated 20 years as a band, a somewhat marathon effort for a band of any persuasion. Now in their 21st year, the band are getting ready to add some more Australian stamps to their passports. Headlining the Forest Edge Festival as well several club shows, it seems that the long hard years of the music industry haven’t slowed these dudes down one bit. I got a chance to speak to Mike Herrera about the upcoming tour, and just how a band manages to stay strong for so long. MxPx was started the year before I was born, 1992, as I went about researching for this interview I realised that I’d basically missed the entire inception of punk rock into the mainstream, I asked Mike to tell me a little bit about what was going on during those times. “I was just goin’ to shows a lot, we went and saw Rancid the first time they came out to Washington, it was exciting because rather than top 40 music, punk rock was accessible to us. We didn’t need a big record label or a big management company working with us, we just made and played music and eventually we got on to a lot of tours and shows and it was bit of a testament to hard work and a bit of luck with the right place right time. It was definitely an exciting time to be part of.” A breakthrough into the mainstream for punk rock in the early 2000’s was a prime point of MxPx’s continual success. Signing to larger labels became something of a norm for a genre that was based on the rejection of corporation and establishment. “We got signed to A & M records which was owned by Universal, it’s kinda weird because back in those days selling out was a
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on tour at an age where things are about to change for them all could be a great kind of premise to this film if we added it to it, that in some ways it’s over for them.” “That’s something I faced in my thirties, your best mates are a lot busier and their priorities have shifted, and the guys that are left who haven’t got their lives together on that level are left in the lurch going’ what happened, we were fifteen and someone lit a match and we’re thirty-five. The thing I think I love about the three leads and their friendship is that they are three extremely different men. I think that can sometime really surprise you when you turn around and look at your best mates and I think Ted does that in the movie, he turns around and goes ‘who are these guys who are my best mates? I have no idea who they are, and why am I spending my entire life with them?’” Getting to visit India, both for research during pre-production and then during filming, wasn’t exactly an ordeal for Cowell either. “There is no way you can understand India until you put yourself in the middle of it. It is a land like no other and it’s impossible to explain. Because it is magical and there is no logic but there’s a logic within that – it’s just a glorious place and people either have a strong reaction to it or they go with it and get it. It’s the people, there’s a lot of beauty in the people and their kind of acceptance of the moment. You actually kind of change speed once you get to India – I just loved it, and just the fact that there’s a thousand things happening in front of your eyes at all times, there’s so much coming at you, but that’s also part of – it’s less stressful than being in the western world for some reason.”
when&where: Save Your Legs is in cinemas now Making a film about cricket over there opened a lot of doors as well. “It’s the soul of cricket over there. You think Australians love cricket, this is a deep, evangelical obsession with cricket over there, there’s literally four or five games being played everywhere you look, you know, with anything, any kind of utensil they can find to play any kind of replica of cricket, they’ll do it. They know everything about it, and you can sit there and talk to an eight year old boy about the Sheffield Shield and Bruce Ried, they just – any contact you have with the Australian cricket team is goldne, fifty people will run towards you wanting your autograph because you’ve met Ricky Ponting. It’s delirious but it’s fantastic. It’s one of the great things the British actually left them with.”
For anyone familiar with Cowell’s television writing, the big surprise with Save Your Legs is the way that, despite the occasional serious moment between team-mates, it proves to be such a light-hearted tale. “I think I write funny in drama, because I think what life is like, it’s funny until it’s serious and even when it gets serious maybe it’s still funny. My instinct is probably to always go towards the rough stuff and what’s kind of extreme and what’s at the core, what’s at the dark core of these friendships and it wasn’t about that, it was about the jaunt and the journey. But here I wanted to write something broad for the masses, for people to really come in and savour. We just wanted to tell a good news story that really celebrated these guys and their love of cricket.”
weekend and it was cool, it had its beauty and we really dug the songs that we were producing at the time. With the album, we really wanted to mix things up and go with a different approach by experimenting with the production of drums and dubs and we spent a lot more time and made sure that everything sounded, as we wanted it to. Paulie has a vast experience with Reggae and dub and being a musician himself, he gave us some great inspiration and ideas to work on,” Anthony speaks of the recording process. Initially, the Kingfisha tunes that we have all grown to love have been all penned off Anthony’s acoustic guitar, yet, as the music has grown in popularity, the song writing methods have taken on different paths of their own. “The rehearsal space has become a great writing tool for us. Shannon (bass player) will bring in a rhythm, and combine it with an idea that I’ve already come up with. From there, we bring little different ideas to the table to flesh it all out. It’s become quite a collaborative process recently, which is a lot more fun,” Anthony states about the main engine room of the band. The next little run of shows for Kingfisha includes a gig at Apollo Bay music festival. As expected the band are very excited to this show in particular due to the positive word that has been passed along to them by fellow dub reggae act Oka, who were a feature of the 2011 festival. “Not all of the band have seen that part of Australia, so it’s going to be a fantastic run of shows for us. I can’t wait to head out on the road again and play our music to as many people as possible.”
When&Where: April 26 - 29 - Apollo Bay Music Festival, Apollo Bay
big no-no for punk rock bands. But nowadays selling out is the first thing kids wanna do. They wanna have the best cars and be on TV and all that stuff. It’s just so different from back then when you had to be modest and work really hard. You cant let some random kid at a show get onto you about selling out, at the end of the day you have to make your own decisions” This March MxPx returns to Australia for a national tour and to headline the Forest Edge Festival, their first headline position at a festival. Mike told me a bit about how it feels to be headlining a festival and how touring and partying has changed over their history. “I don’t really think there’s any extra pressure, there doesn’t really need to be any pressure, we’ve been around for a long time and we’re comin out from the US so it kinda makes sense for us to headline I guess. The festival is our last show of the tour so its gonna be a nice little send-off. If we’re gonna party anywhere its gonna be on tour, but its definitely changed now. We come home to families but when we’re away I make a special effort to check out the city that we’re in and make the most of being away and being at home” Even after 20 years MxPx still have some good years in them for sure “It has been a long time, we’ve had to work to live but its been fulfilling. If you’re gonna do something in life, its not about having the world standard of success it’s really about how many experiences you’ve had how many stories you’ve got to think back on, as well as being able support your family and all that kind of stuff”
When&Where: March 10 - Barwon Club, Geelong
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tweet of the week
“ Hello George! Huge fan from India! Love you on RuPaul’s Drag Race Race! Good luck with winning this season!”
INSIDE SPLINTERS PRESENTS...
SHARON NEEDLES
@cacajuice chats with Boy George and gets it all wrong in the process.
PG-13
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HIT OR SHIT! SHARON NEEDLES RuPaul Season 4 winner is visiting Melbourne on March the 8th at Roxanne Parlour.
The Track-by-Track Review.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race star is currently touring the country for Mardi-Gras, sadly no Melbourne gigs.
Written by Adem with an E
RuPaul’s Drag Race is currently onto its fifth season and is fast becoming one of the most popular reality programs ever. Sharon Needles, its 2012 champion, could possibly be held accountable for the shows surge in popularity, with 2013’s Season 5 already rating higher than any of its predecessors. Needles was the People’s Choice for Next Drag Superstar, and the support Sharon and her boyfriend Alaska – who is a contender on the series this season (and also tipped to win) – have garnered over the last 12 months is a true testament to that, with thousands heralding Needles as their favourite Drag Race Queen to date.
Amazingly, the album managed to sell more units in its first week than RuPaul herself’s last album, 2011’s “Glamazon.” Not bad at all for a debut effort. Twelve incredible songs. A couple of great guest-vocalist cameos. Let’s take a lot at them, track-by-track.
THIS CLUB IS A HAUNTED HOUSE (featuring RuPaul) The first single to be lifted off PG-13 comes complete with a flawless introduction from RuPaul herself. The introduction follows a similar formula last heard in Ru’s 1993 worldwide hit “Supermodel Of The World.” “Once upon a time there was a little dead girl,” Ru says. “Dug up from the corn-fields of Newton Iowa. She was discovered by a much more gorgeous, blacker, beautiful, famous drag queen, and her career took off! Oh lord I’ve created a Monster. You better BURN, WITCH!” Combining clever dance beats with what is a straight-up pop song, this was by far the best lead single from a Drag Race Queen in all of its five seasons of recorded beauty.
CALL ME ON THE OUIJA BOARD The best song on PG-13, this is unashamed pop at its absolute finest. “You wanna talk to me? Then drop the phone – and pick up the board!” The chorus is more infectious than V.D. and the lyrics in the song itself are classic Sharon. “A-B-C-D-E-F-G, call me on the ouija board!” Obvious contender for Single #2, surely.
DEAD GIRLS NEVER SAY NO When talking about the album, Sharon explained the title sums up the content on the record. It’s kinda scary, but not really at all; PG-13. This particular song is a bloody riot (pardon the pun), and once again showcases Needles’ astonishing grasp of what makes a pop song.
We’ve all been here before haven’t we? “I’ve never been a quitter, don’t know when to quit. Some call it a hangover, I call it The Morning.” This, all over a chorus featuring background vocalists singing cheerfully “D.U.I!” Amazing.
I WISH I WERE AMANDA LEPORE (featuring Amanda Lepore) A subdued techno-beat engulfs this love-letter to gender bending occasional nudist Amanda Lepore, as Lepore herself talks about how fabulous and plastic she is through the bridge (“Yes I’m perfect but even perfect has a heart.”) The song isn’t exactly heavy on lyrical content but serves as a great moment for Needles to sing a song with one of her industry heroes and has already become a big fan favourite.
WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE NUTS? Sharon’s album takes a different turn with this faux-electropop punk offering. Not the best moment but still better than most songs we’ve heard this year.
DISCO BALL Borrowing soundscapes from French House and early 2000’s electro, “Disco Ball” is – once again – more pop than dance, but that doesn’t stop the song from being PG-13’s most raverific moment. “I’m gonna take you for the spin of your life!”
DRESSED TO KILL One of the more bizarre and automatically brilliant moments on PG13, this frantic electrorock cut takes the sound Needles is so fond of throughout the album and distorts it even more than we’ve heard thus far. “This isn’t a fucking costume!” sings Sharon of her drag couture, “This is a way of life.”
LET’S ALL DIE Another fan favourite, this pushes Needles into Hardcore, with the smallest splashings of dubstep – barely noticeable, actually – just the way we like it. “The best day of my life, was the day I was born. Because that was the day that I started dying.” Morbidly pop but with a tongue firmly placed in cheek, this is a perfect example as to why Sharon really is the People’s Princess.
KAI KAI (featuring Alaska Thunderfuck & Ana Matronic) Featuring Sharon’s boyfriend and the lucious Ana Matronic from the Scissor Sisters, this song is all about having a Kai Kai. What’s a Kai Kai? Let’s turn to Urban Dictionary: “When two drag queens hook up or have sex. Example: Did you see Mimi and Cece after the show last night? I think there was a kai kai going on behind the scenes!” Again – Amazing. “Let’s have a Kai Kai, serving fish to-night-night!” Matronic pops up for the middle-8 and it is the kind of stuff Legends are made of. Amazingly this song alone wipes the floor clean with the Scissters last album, the floptastic “Magic Hour.”
EVERYDAY IS HALLOWEEN (featuring Armen Ra) A stunning surprise, this ballad does a sterling job at showcasing how good Sharon’s voice really is. Another huge fan favourite.
HAIL SATAN! (featuring Jayne County)
HEATHER SMALL The former M-People warbler is also in town for Mardi-Gras.
THE END OF AMERICAN HORROR STORY ASYLUM Our favourite scripted show of 2012 drew to a close with a rip-snorter finale. Season 3 is tipped to be set during the Salem Witch Trials.
WAITING TILL MIDYEAR FOR THE RETURN OF TRUE BLOOD Our second favourite scripted show of 2012 couldn’t come back any sooner.
SHIT!
Previous Drag Race Queens have released – with varying degrees of success – singles in the past. 90% of those were straight-up dance tracks that would either easily fit into most radio playlists at present or were so amateur that even playing them to the deaf would cause injury. Needles, however, ditched the idea of releasing a sole single, put her money where her mouth is and embarked on the creation of her first full-length album. To top it all off; the album is really bloody good. The production on “PG-13” is mind-blowing; everything from the backing vocalists to the way the songs have been structured. The record draws a fine line between pop, rock and dance music, but none of the songs on here could really be pigeonholed to the one genre (though Needles’ pop sensibilities are the glue of this record.)
DRINK TILL I DIE
HIT
WILLAM BELLI
THE WIGGLES & THEIR EVER-CHANGING LINE-UP Australia’s answer to the Sugababes?
Formerly known as Wayne County, Jayne went on to be rock’s very first transsexual singer. Though she has never been a commercial success, she’s been an influence on musicians such as David Bowie, The Ramones, Patti Smith, and Lou Reed. Her Satanic involvement in this album closer on Sharon’s album is as rough and far-away from pop or dance as it gets. A full-on assault into rock-metal, there’s no fucking around with this Ode to the Prince of Darkness.
THE VERDICT: A truly fantastic debut effort from the Drag scenes biggest, brightest hope since RuPaul herself. Sharon is touring Australia right now, with a show scheduled for Melbourne’s Roxanne Parlour on March the 8th, with limited tickets still available from the venue.
A true blood
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THE CITY LIGHTS MELBOURNE
The City Lights: Here we are now, entertain us. Coming up you have… .........................................................................
The Might of Tonight Alive Oh what a year it was for Tonight Alive in 2012. The pop punk band played in 16 different countries, spent the summer on The Warped circuit and headlined internationally for the first time. This year they have been cruising around with Black Veil Brides and Chiodos. As one of the country’s most loved exports in recent times, the kings and queen of the band are having one hell of a time. Ding Dong - May 18 (18+) & May 19 (U18). .........................................................................
The Horrors of Cradle of Filth In 1991 a new force in metal was formed. Calling themselves Cradle of Filth the band released a few demos before dropping their debut album The Principle of Evil Made Flesh in 1994. The album is still regarded as one of the finest black metal albums and in 2006 made it onto Metal Hammer’s Top 10 Black Metal Albums of the last 20 years. Their latest is The Manticore & Other Horrors. The Palace May 10. .........................................................................
Destroy the Music Mini-Fest Proudly presented by Destroy All Lines, Destroy the Music is a touring mini-fest featuring a couple of Yankees, a New Zealander and an Aussie. Variety is the spice of life, after all. L.A.’s melodic hardcore band The Ghost Inside and New York’s Emmure are your American guests of honour. New Zealand’s Antagonist A.D. are your Trans-Tasman friends and representing Australia will be Sydney’s Hand of Mercy. The Hi-Fi - May 25 & 26 (U18). .........................................................................
Roll Up to the Dead Letter Circus Brisbane’s Dead Letter Circus are taking a trip south for a handful of shows with Breaking Orbit. Formed in late 2004, Dead Letter Circus, or DLC if you’re into that kinda thing, released their self-titled debut EP in 2007. A few years later they served up This Is The Warning (2010) and now they’re showing off new single, ‘Cage’. The single is a taste from their forthcoming sophomore album. The Corner - April 12.
Six60 Swing By Our New Zealand buddies Six60 will drop in on Australia next month before relocating to Europe. You see, the band recently signed a European deal with Sony Music and when Europe starts knocking you answer. It is shaping up as a big year for the band with SXSW and Canadian Music Week also on the agenda. So head on down to The Forum on May 3, enjoy some fine tunes and wish them well. .........................................................................
Shaking It with Baauer Whatever you may think of the ‘Harlem Shake’, you can’t deny that it is bringing so much joy to so many people. And you gotta love that. Now the man responsible for the tune that started this global craze is making his way to Australia. Harry Rodrigues, better known as Baauer, has been producing dance music since he was 13 and has produced remixes for The Prodigy, No Doubt and Nero. Brown Alley - May 4. .........................................................................
Hanging King Tuff “A more charismatic, enigmatic nomad of a furioso frontman/artist/guitar legend could not be imagined. You can’t make this shit up.” So reads the Sub Pop bio of King Tuff, the lo-fi garage pop persona of Kyle Thomas. His 2008 debut album Was Dead was met with many cheers while his 2012 selftitled effort was met with many more cheers. He’s never been out this way before so make him feel welcome. Bermuda Float - April 25. .........................................................................
The Timeless Endless Boogie With a name taken from John Lee Hooker’s 1971 album, Endless Boogie was once called the best kept secret in New York’s rock scene. Although, it is fair to say, that things are not quite as secret as they once were. And they haven’t been for some time. Australia knows them well - they brought the house down at Golden Plain Sixx. Now they’re heading back for another round of endless boogying. NSC - April 3.
Hungry Kids of Hungary #2 Last month saw the release of You’re a Shadow, the second album from Hungry Kids of Hungary. In the lead up to its release fans got acquainted with singles ‘Twin Cities’ and ‘Sharp Shooter’ and if those tracks are anything to go by You’re a Shadow is sure to be on the portable recording device of many, many people (I say portable recording device as I don’t want to discriminate between makes and models). The Corner - April 26.
Who Else but StormChasers Funk and soul brothers and sisters: stand up and let yourselves be seen. Grab a partner and dance. Holler and shout. Brisbane eight-piece StormChasers have a message for you and the message is this: if you ain’t dancing, you’re dead. With a free-spirited fusion of funk, soul and pop, this young outfit is setting the scene on fire. Their new single is ‘Someone Else’ and they’re taking it to Ruby’s Lounge on March 29. .........................................................................
I See The Drones It has been a couple of years since The Drones have embarked on a national headlining run but fans’ prayers have been answered with the band set to perform a handful of shows next month. The tour supports the band’s recently released album I See Seaweed. The Burke Reid-produced album
Tenacious D Are But Men The comedy rock duo with the blood of Jimmy Page coursing through their veins, the one and only Tenacious D, are heading back to Australia for a handful of “old-school acoustic style” shows. The lads, nay men, were last out this way warming up the crowds for Foo Fighters’ stadium run but this time around they have a few new tunes at hand. If you want rock all you have to do is believe. The Palais - May 17.
is their sixth studio effort and the eagerly awaited follow-up to 2008’s Havilah. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard supports. The Forum April 26. .........................................................................
The Heavyweight A$AP Rocky Born Rakim Mayers, A$AP Rocky was born and raised in Harlem. He took his moniker from the hip hop collective A$AP Mob and in 2011 released his debut mixtape, Live. Love. ASAP. His debut album of the same name was released in 2013. The critically acclaimed album features a pretty stellar guest list including Schoolboy Q, Santigold, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, 2 Chainz and Florence Welch. The Palace - June 28.
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beav's bar
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black hatt
black hatt
black hatt
city quarter
eureka hotel
eureka hotel
barwon club
city quarter
eureka hotel
eureka hotel
barwon club
barwon club
home house
lAMbys
lAMbys
home house
home house
lAMbys
lAMbys
home house
toast nightclub
toast nightclub
toast nightclub
toast nightclub
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slate pool lounge
irish murphys
slate pool lounge
irish murphys
grovedale pub
odyssey tavern
grovedale pub
odyssey tavern
grovedale pub
the edge
the edge
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the max
the max
the max
elephant and castle
elephant and castle
elephant and castle
geelong rsl
geelong rsl
wool exchange
wool exchange
wool exchange
wool exchange
cuda bar
cuda bar
cuda bar
cuda bar
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FILM REVIEWS
written by anthony morris
Oz the Great and Powerful Two things you need to know about this film going in. One is that it’s directed by Sam Raimi, whose fun and freewheeling sensibility made the first three SpiderMan films (not to mention the Evil Dead movies) so enjoyable. The other is that it’s from Disney, who in recent years have taken a fairly consistent line with their live-action fantasy films – a line best embodied in the barely watchable Alice in Wonderland. Basically, this is a film that was always going to be torn between two approaches to movie-making – one smart, slyly funny and high energy, the other largely content to stick pretty pictures up on the screen without really bothering to tell us why we should care. As for which one ends up winning, let’s put it this way: you see that big Disney logo at the start of the film? That’s there because this utterly un-necessary prequel to one of the most loved films of all time is a Disney film, and Disney like their live-action fantasy films to be… well, that’s already been covered here. In a black & white opening in 1905 that’s actually pretty decent we’re introduced to Oscar Diggs, AKA Oz (James Franco), a shoddy circus magician full of dreams of something more. Fleeing a circus strongman who’s girlfriend he woo’d – Oz being very much the love ‘em and leave ‘em type – he boards a hot air balloon, then a passing tornado dumps him in the land of Oz, where it turns out there’s a prophecy (groan) that says a Wizard that sounds a lot like him will arrive to free the kingdom of the wicked witch. Oz then hooks up with – as in, seems to have a one night stand with and no that’s not a joke – Theodora (Mila Kunis), a somewhat witchy local who takes him to meet her sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz), current ruler in Emerald City. Theodora already wants to marry Oz; Oz sees being sent on a mission to kill the “wicked witch” (Michelle Williams) as a way out. Things happen but it’s hard to care about any of them really, especially as this is a prequel so we all know who’s going to win. The actual winning part at the end is well done and Franco is pretty decent when it comes to being endearingly crap but for long, long stretches there’s nothing here but visuals seemingly designed for the inevitable amusement park ride. It’s telling that the black & white opening and the cheesy magic there is far more effective that the glowing 3D visuals of the rest of the film; sometimes a little magic goes a long way.
Broken City You know when you’re watching a movie and the people in the movie go to the movies? Broken City is the kind of movie they go to see. Solidly old-fashioned without ever being retro, this tale of corruption in the big city is the kind of “hard-edged” update of the private eye genre that was cutting edge in the 1970s then died out entirely once everyone became bitter and cynical about the depths pretty much everyone in power will go to in order to hang onto that power. The story is a lot more simple than it seems to think it is, which gives it a lot in common with the character Mark Wahlberg is playing: after gunning down a freed rapist, cop Billy Taggart (Wahlberg) walks free thanks to the mayor (Russell Crowe) suppressing evidence that would prove Taggart did the killing in cold blood. Fast forward seven years and Taggart is now a struggling private investigator who gets a call from the still-incumbent Mayor: his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is messing around with someone and he wants to find out who before his opponent (Billy Pepper) in the upcoming election can use it against him. Everyone is venal, self-serving and scuzzy here, and they’re all hiding some dark secret or another for Taggart to stumble across, which kind of defuses the tension; when everyone’s bad, it’s not exactly a surprise when someone else is revealed to be bad. The mystery is also one that only works if everyone is kind of thick, but at least the film knows this about Taggart – the few times he tries to act smart everyone else just goes “yeah, right” and pulls the rug out from under him. The result is a film that moves along perfectly well without managing to ever become memorable, let alone something that shifts you towards the edge of your seat. But it’s not like clunky political mysteries come along every day, so if you crave some variety in your cinema diet you could certainly do worse.
Cloud Atlas At close to three hours and with six separate – but intertwined – storylines covering a period of roughly 500 years, there’s certainly a lot going on here. So let’s get on with it: In 1849, Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) is in the South Pacific to negotiate with a slave trader when he falls ill. Sailing home under the care of Doctor Henry Goose (Tom Hanks), he meets a stowaway (David Gyasi) who becomes a central character in the journal he’s writing – a journal that will be read by would-be composer Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) in England in the 1930s. He’s left his lover Rufus Sixmith (James D’Arcy) to try and weedle his way into the employ of once great composer Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent) in the hopes of kickstarting his career, and we know from the film’s opening his story ends badly – badly enough that when Sixsmith turns up in San Francisco in the 1970s as part of a sinister nuclear conspiracy being investigated by journalist Luisa Rey (Halle Berry), he’s still a haunted man. In 2012 UK publishing executive Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent), on the run after a thug author (Tom Hanks) that he published murders a reviewer at a party, ends up imprisoned in an old people’s home that’s been established in Ayrs’ converted mansion. In the future in the Korean city of Neo Seoul, clone worker Sonmi-451 (Donna Bae) discovers her own individual identity via a clip (starring Tom Hanks) of the movie version of Cavendish’s ordeal before she’s set free by Hae-Joo Chang (Jim Sturgess), one of the leaders of the anti-slave rebellion. And in the distant future on an island that’s reverted to savagery and where the people worship Sonmi, Zachry (Tom Hanks) leads Meronym (Halle Berry), a member of a more advanced civilisation called the Prescients, to a long-forgotten communications relay that holds the hope of saving both their communities. These plotlines are all interconnected through time, whether directly or thematically, while the editing goes out of its way to create counterpoints where possible – a serious car chase in one timeline is intercut with a comedy on in another, and so on. Unfortunately, once you look past the admittedly impressive surface there’s not a lot of depth to be found here. Slavery is bad, people want to be free, lives intertwine; that pretty much sums it up. And the make-up that allows everyone to play everyone else isn’t always convincing; for every time you think it looks okay, there’ll be a time where it’s hard not to laugh. Whether you can get past that or not will play a big part in how much you enjoy this film; it’s a fun ride, but the bumps along the way can be pretty distracting.
Side Effects Director Steven Soderbergh has been talking about retiring for a while now, and if he does through with his plans that’ll make Side Effects his final bigscreen film (he’s got a biography of Liberace coming up for HBO). And while Side Effects isn’t exactly his best film – ever since Ocean’s 11 he’s been making films that feel a lot more like technical exercises than anything he’s really invested his heart and soul into – it’s still a pretty high note to go out on. When her husband (Channing Tatum) gets out of prison after an extended stay due to shady financial dealings, Emily (Rooney Mara) finds herself struggling to cope. After a car crash that looks a lot like a suicide attempt her shrink (Jude Law) prescribes various medicines over an extended period of time as they try to find the ones that’ll lift her mood without crippling side effects. They fail: while in a sleepwalking state seemingly due to medication she commits a horrific crime. Will she be found not guilty and the blame put on her medication? And if so, what does that mean for her shrink? For a while this chilly thriller looks like it’s going to be a sombre look at the way today’s (over-) medicated society looks for the quick fix for everything, but as things develop it turns out to be less interested in the way we live now and more about piling on the twists and turns a la the “sexy” thrillers of the 1990s. Soderbergh’s style is perfect for putting a classy sheen on the sleazy antics, while the cast – most noteably Law and Mara, but also Catherine Zeta-Jones as a rival shrink – do an excellent job of making their somewhat slim characters feel like well-rounded people. Side Effects turns out to be a fairly slight film, but it’s a satisfying one, and for Soderbergh that’s a pretty good note to go out on.
Save Your Legs The one problem all sports movies share is that if you like sport, it’s not exactly hard to find some sport to watch. So why watch a movie that takes the stuff you’re interested in and pads it out with a bunch of people standing around talking when you could easily watch an uninterrupted game? Save Your Legs gets around this problem by – despite what the ads tell you – not really being about cricket all that much at all. Instead it’s about a bunch of men in their 30s realising that their lives are changing and the forces that brought them together aren’t really there any more. It’s just that what brought them together is playing cricket – for the Abbotsford Anglers, to be precise – only now our three leads are drifting apart. Teddy Brown (Stephen Curry) is just as passionate about cricket as ever; unfortunately the rest of his life is falling apart and he’s currently living in the garage of his mate Stav (Damon Gameau), who has a wife, a family, a smug attitude and a growing feeling that he just doesn’t have time for cricket anymore. Meanwhile Rick (Brendan Cowell) is the party man of the team, but when responsibility creeps up on him he’s surprisingly ready to take it on. Oh yeah, and all this takes place while the Anglers are on a tour of India, having persuaded Teddy’s Indian boss at the sports store that they won’t embarrass him if they go on the tour he’s helping to organise. Things start off well and India certainly looks great but after a while things start to fall apart as the tour goes nowhere, the guys conflicts don’t really develop – which isn’t that big a surprise, as the only real way they could develop is the guys drifting apart – and the ending pretty much ignores all the previous drama in favour of getting the gang back together for one last feel-good moment. If you’re a big cricket fan there’s not a whole lot of cricket here, but there are a lot of jokes about Sachin Tendulkar’s box, which Teddy stole then turned into a trophy. It’s a funny throwaway joke that this film pounds into the ground – which pretty much sums up its approach across the board.
Great Expectations If you’re going to remake a classic in the age when the history of cinema is only a DVD (or download) away, you really need to bring something new to the table. So for a few minutes at least things look promising here as we get an opening that suggests a more nature-based take (a la last year’s Wuthering Heights). And then director Mike Newell goes on to deliver a plodding, uninspired stab at Charles Dickens’ much-loved tale that rests firmly in the shade of both the 2011 BBC miniseries and David Lean’s 1946 film. The story remains the same: after helping out escaped convict Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes), blacksmith’s apprentice Pip (Toby Irvine) becomes the playmate of Estella (Helena Barlow) ward of the unbalanced Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter). When grown, Pip (Jeremy Irvine) comes into a fortune, presumably from Havisham, becomes a London gentleman of a kind, and has his heart broken by the now beautiful but passionless Estella (Holliday Grainger). Pip is a prat, Estella is stiff, Fiennes and Carter give performances verging on the pantomime and familiarity has dulled the later plot twists. The story itself is solid enough to ensure things never get dull, but there’s just not enough that’s new here to make it anything more than a retread of a story that’s been told better elsewhere.
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I Give It A Year Occasionally along comes a film where the distance between what they were trying to do and what they achieved is just that little bit greater than usual. It’s not that hard to see that with I Give It a Year the hope was to somehow combine everyone’s favourite brand of UK romcom with the broad strain of relationship comedy currently coming out of the US – a cross between Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridesmaids, lets say. But if any publicist were to take the line “a cross between Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridesmaids” and slap it on the poster they’d be up for a false advertising lawsuit so big they’d never see the light of day again under the paperwork because what this film turns out to be is a near-aimless string of pointless set-pieces in which the broadest comedy principles possible are smeared across the screen in the clearly deluded assumption that someone somewhere will get a laugh out of it. The story probably seemed like it had potential once upon a time: after a whirlwind romance freewheeling writer Josh (Rafe Spall) and uptight publicity whiz Nat (Rose Byrne) got married. Hey, embarrassing best man speeches are funny – why not get Stephen Maerchant to make the most embarrassing speech ever! Well, because it makes him look like he’s mentally ill and some kind of sex criminal for starters. Cut to (almost) a year later and the bloom is off the rose. Will Nat fall for her hunky new client (Simon Baker)? Will Josh fall back into the arms of his scruffy ex Chole (Ana Faris)? Will you care because no-one in this film acts remotely like a human being, instead being compromised entirely of one-dimensional comedy tics that rapidly shift from “slightly amusing” to “intensely annoying” long before the halfway mark? There’s nothing going on here that is remotely worth your attention; even fans of the bluntest forms of comedy are best advised to give this a wide berth.
FILM WRAP Beautiful Creatures: More than just a deep south Twilight knockoff – for one thing, it’s actually pretty funny – this supernatural teen romance turns out to be surprisingly good fun inbetween the pouting and longing looks. The Last Stand: Arnold Schwarzenegger is back and while he’s surrounded by a town full of helpers in his battle to stop
an escaping drug lord from racing a supercar through his town to freedom, he still manages to rack up a decent bodycount when this film finally gets to the killing. Anna Karenina: Visually stunning (the whole story is told as if acted out on an impossible stage) but otherwise hollow, this adaptation of the classis Russian novel about the dangers of giving
your life to passion is held together by Keira Knightly’s performance. Safe Haven: Pretty much business as usual from the author of The Notebook and Dear John, which means it’s probably the biggest film in Australia at the moment. Lincoln: Steven Spielberg’s look at the final few months of Lincoln’s
life is surprisingly entertaining (if overlong and uneven) thanks to a charming performance from Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln and a fun supporting cast of schemers and scoundrels. Hansel & Gretel: They’re all grown up, they’re fighting monsters, and they’re wasting your time because this garbled action film is one big unfunny mess.
POrPe! cultu By An th on
y M or ri s
Comedy needs two things to work: surprise and recognition. “I didn’t think that was going to happen” followed by “that’s so true!” covers a pretty large spectrum of things that make human beings laugh. Which might go some way towards explaining two current pop culture trends that seem to be happily feeding off each other: people making “edgy” offensive jokes, and people online (mostly on twitter) being offended by those jokes. Now, a lot of “edgy” jokes are just lazy, and calling them out for being lazy is every intelligent human beings’ sacred duty, which is why I’ll always have plenty of time for people who don’t like Chris Lilley (“sneaky nuts” is hilarious, oh ho ho ho). And a lot of the time offensive jokes aren’t so much jokes as just someone wanting to be plain offensive just to get a reaction, which again sums up a lot of Chris Lilley’s recent antics (seriously, showing your balls in a family photo is a joke in the same way as drawing a dick and balls on a car is… oh wait, Lilley’s done that too). But despite all that there’s still a legitimate place for jokes that some might find offensive – and even if you think there isn’t, too bad, as barring certain legal areas (the words “libel” and “slander” come to mind) people can say whatever the heck they like. Not that you’d know that from the storm of outrage that gushed forth after last week’s Oscars, in which host Seth Macfarlane did pretty much exactly what anyone who’d thought about his body of work expected him to do and mixed up a bunch of dodgy jokes about women and
Latinos with some old-style singing and dancing. Cue internet exploding with horror like no-one on Earth had ever watched an episode of Macfarlaine’s Family Guy before. Some of the complaints had a point: there were a lot of jokes that were negative towards women going on. Some of the complaints missed the point: that whole “We Saw Your Boobs” song during the opening was carefully positioned to defuse attacks via a framing device that involved Captain Kirk saying “this was / is a horrible idea”. And some of the complaints didn’t realise that having Captain Kirk say “this was / is a horrible idea” didn’t get Macfarlane off the hook: if the joke had been “ you did a musical number titled ‘We Saw Your Boobs’” “Oh God, no!” and then onto something else, it’s a joke. To say that then show the musical number in its entirety just means you wanted to do a song titled “We Saw Your Boobs” and figured you’d better stick in a bit of asscovering up front. The real point is, despite how the internet is positioned in our society there are a lot of people who don’t use it to broadcast their opinions and going by the ratings Macfarlane’s comedy works just fine on them. Maybe they like the surprise of seeing a clean-cut and moderately handsome guy say old-fashioning stuff about nagging women and incomprehensible immigrants; maybe they hear his sexist jokes and think “that’s so true”.
MUSIC REVIEWS The Human Electric Warbirds E.P Hang The DJs Music The four Melbournian lads that comprise of the punk-rock fourpiece The Human Electric have done a stellar job on their second E.P, Warbirds. Backing up their 2011 debut E.P Mannequin, Warbirds is that breath of fresh air and break in the monotenous indie-folk cycle that we have (well a lot of us), have been looking for. This isn’t to say that their sound is unfavourable for those who decide that acoustic folk is their primary cup of tea - it is every bit as catchy and they create a good balance of genres on this 6-track release - there’s even a hint of some southern bluesy rock at some points. Stand out tracks for most would be ‘Ya Got Me Singin’ and the title track ‘Warbirds’. They’re moderately heavy but catchy and the voice of lead vocalist Ben Oborne quickly gets the innergroupy imagining what life would be like on the road with a rock band. But I enjoy doing my air guitar riffs to ‘Wayward Soul’. ‘Let It Fall’ is another great track with a heavy drum kit. Bringing a bit of diversity back into the local music market, this E.P is absoloutely worth buying, or for the tech-savvy folk, a new find for your playlist, as its also available on iTunes & Spotify. BY REBECCA MCINTYRE
Benny Walker Sinners and Saints Independent Release If you like Tom Richardson, you’ll absolutely love Benny Walker. Having played around the traps all over Australia with Tom over the past couple of years, Benny is back with his sophomore release entitled Sinners and Saints. Most recently, Benny has been awarded Best New Talent at the Victorian Indigenous Performing Arts Awards and is set to tour through Australian through February and March. Opening with ‘Ticket For A Train’, this album showcases the talents of this young blues and roots troubadour who has racked up a lot of kilometres touring around with appearances at Nannup Music Festival, Woodford Folk Festival and a tour of Canada. Recorded at Yikesville studios in Melbourne with ARIA award winning producer, Shane O’Mara, Sinners and Saints highlights the heartfelt song writing and soulful vocals, which draws comparisons to Donavon Frankenreiter. To find out what the buzz about Benny is, make sure you check this disc out. BY TEX MILLER
Ainslie Wills You Go Your Way, I’ll Go Mine Independent Release
2013 oscar's host seth mcfarlane
PULP.
Just once I’d like to get through my fortnight’s reviews without finding an album I don’t like. Just once. Alas, until the majors and bigger indie labels start releasing for the year, I’m stuck wading through the unknown chaff and gambling on my fortnight’s listening. Not the best intro for this album, but honestly, nothing about it grabs me. Ainslie Wills voice is fantastic, I will say that. However, the melody, lyrics and instrumental work are all uninspired. All the tracks blend into one long sound. I honestly couldn’t pick out a highlight. Every now and then, a track like ‘Liquid Paper’ changes up the sound, but really, there’s nothing worth your time or money here. Hopefully the next batch of CDs turns up some real gold. BY CAMERON BROGDEN
>>>>>> By Cameron Urquhart & Alastair McGibbon
Various artists
Alastair: Hoo boy, what a week for DC fans. Batman’s Death of the Family arc has just wrapped up, Aquaman’s Throne of Atlantis arc has concluded with a bang in Justice League #17, and the new Justice League of America title has launched. I’ll be honest, though; I never paid Throne of Atlantis any attention because, well, it’s Aquaman. Granted, his New 52 run has been significantly better than his previous titles, but the story arc just hasn’t grabbed me. Much the same can be said about the Rise of the Third Army arc in Green Lantern and its spinoff titles. I suspect that the reason these big story arcs haven’t grabbed me is twofold:1, they involve characters/series that I rarely (if ever) read, and 2, I simply can’t afford to keep buying comics for three separate story arcs at once. Speaking of Death of the Family, Cameron and I were expecting to spend most of this column talking about it, so I’d better get down to business. First impression: wow. After the Court of the Owls arc, I wasn’t sure that Scott Snyder could do better. He definitely topped it. Joker has really got to Batman’s allies this time, imprisoning them and forcing them to attend his macabre party set in the Batcave. I don’t want to spoil too much, but the Bat-family will never be the same again! Snyder also drops a huge bombshell as well – Batman knows a particularly juicy secret about the Clown Prince of Crime. If Snyder keeps this up, Batman is going to be amazing. Cameron: As Al said, this week we thought we’d be talking heavily about the Death of the Family storyline from the deliriously talented Scott Snyder. However, we talk often of Batman and thought we could use some variety in our column, though I will be posting my thoughts later this week on our Tumblr. Though while we talk of the ol’ Snydface (no one calls him that) have a look at American Vampire, 34 regular issues and two 5 issues miniseries
Sound City: Real to Reel Sony
batman #17 [death of the family]
chronicle the beginnings of a new breed of vampire, from 1925 up to the 50s. Plus the first story arc has bonus tales written by master of horror Stephen King, who just happens to be my favourite author. Speaking of Stephen King, another comic worth checking out is Locke & Key written by King’s son Joe Hill and drawn by Gabriel Rodriguez. Hill’s writing reminds me of King’s while managing to still remain very different. The things that remind are small touches, but important ones, as like King he manages to bring authenticity to the voice of each character, no matter their age or upbringing. He also manages to leave me thinking about everything I’ve read once the cover is closed, the story playing over in my head for weeks as I dissect every element. Hill also manages to bring a surprising level of terror and suspense to each page turn. That’s kind of important in horror comics. Be sure to check us out online at http://ozpulp.tumblr.com or at http://www.facebook.com/OzPulp
It’s finally here. The album that will save rock ‘n’ roll. And it’s a soundtrack. Dave Grohl gathered all his friends to work with him on the soundtrack to his directorial debut, Sound City. From Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear to legends like Sir Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks, this album features a veritable who’s who of rock stars. Grohl’s distinct vocals feature heavily throughout the record, but they’re not the star here. Rock ‘n’ roll is. Brilliant guitar riffs, sporadic drumming, and power chords. It’s all here. Thirteen-time Grammy winner, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer, and co-writer of the eighth-bestselling record of all time, Stevie Nicks lends her signature voice to ‘You Can’t Fix This’, and at times you forget that it’s essentially the Foo Fighters backing her up, it starts to sound like Fleetwood Mac. Whereas ‘The Man That Never Was’ sounds like the Foo Fighters, only instead of Dave Grohl, we have Rick Springfield. ‘Your Wife Is Calling’ honestly sounds a little like something The Porkers would have come out with in the late nineties, right up until it brings a bluesy sound with the harmonicas. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the song performed by the so-called Nirvana reunion (featuring Sir Paul McCartney) last December, ‘Cut Me Some Slack’ which manages to create a modern rock sound, even with the distinctive voice of Wings and The Beatles over the top. Buy this album. Buy the movie. Save Rock ‘n’ Roll. BY CAMERON BROGDEN
Grizzly Jim Lawrie Paying My Debts From The Grave KTD I picked this up expecting some fantastic blues-rock. Instead, I’ve been treated to some fantastic acoustic indie-folk sounds. Jim Lawrie is a journeyman drummer, most recently as a member of Melbourne band, Eagle and the Worm, finally going solo with his own acoustic songwriting, and I must say, it was a brilliant move. Opening track, ‘Tell My Mother’ shows off his vocals from the getgo, with only the quietest of piano notes playing behind him. This is followed up with ‘Wish I Was There’, which has a certain Eagles, folk-rock vibe to it, which is definitely a step in the right direction. ‘Take Things Fast’ continues this sound, whereas ‘Song For The Road’ brings it to a more modern folk sound, with and increased tempo on the acoustic guitar, and a return to the heavy focus on vocals. It might just be my current obsession with all things Finn, but ‘Travelling Song’ seems to have elements of Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Stop Now’ in the instrumental parts, except the lead guitar, which accents Lawrie’s vocals brilliantly. All in all, a great album, definitely worth picking up. But seriously, wouldn’t “Grizzly Jim Lawrie” be an awesome blues name? BY CAMERON BROGDEN
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grogwatch It’s tough when a relationship ends. It’s even tougher when you’re not the one ending it. You look across the room, you look across the table and what you see is something once so essential to your very existence now slowly pulling away from you, drifting out of your life and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. You want to stop it from happening, of course you do, and you do everything you can to hold on but changes you can’t see are taking place – have already taken place, off somewhere you can’t reach – and all you can do now is watch as you’re left going through the motions before the end. And what makes it all the worse is that when the relationship first started you knew this might happen and so you did everything you could to protect yourself, you said it was only temporary, just a causal thing for as long as they were going to be around but as the weeks turned into months you let your guard down and dared to hope that maybe this time it was going to last, it was going to stick and they’d always be there and not just walk out like all the rest. And of course, the moment you did that, the signs started that you’d been right the first time and the clock was rapidly ticking down to zero and bad luck buddy, you’re on the hook and there’s no easy way off. This kind of crap is supposed to get easier, right? You’re supposed to get better at just going “yeah, okay, see ya” once you realise there’s nothing you can do to stop them going, but everything time it’s just like this massive iron cage locks down around your heart the second you see them walking out the door… well, not literally walking out the door of course, I haven’t gotten to the stage where I’m seeing bottles of booze walking around the place and – what? What did you say? I’m talking about booze, isn’t it obvious that – wait, you thought I was talking about a relationship with another person? Why the hell would I want to do that? Geez, you people are nuts.
THE FORTE
VOX
POP 50
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What I’m talking about here is the gradual disappearance from our liquor store shelves – and by “liquor store” I mean “Dan Murphy’s”, because I’m yet to see it in any other store and it’s starting to look like I never will – of my personal favourite of the growing number of spin-offs from the original Absolut Vodka, Absolut 100. Unlike the dozens of variations on the vodka theme that Absolut is currently churning out, and man, do those guys love their flavoured vodkas or what? Here was I thinking pretty much the entire point of drinking vodka was that you could tip pretty much anything into it to make it taste different and they’re all like “no way dude, let us make it taste vaguely lemony for only $10 more!” Anyway, currently Absolut are going nuts with a whole bunch of variously flavoured vodkas which, you know, whatever, they do this every six months or so. But six months or so ago when they revealed their latest batch of these things they threw in a couple for those people who drink vodka because they, you know, like vodka: some kind of fancy super-purified Absolut Elixir (I think) that costs maybe double what a regular bottle does for the same alcohol content, and Absolut 100, which also costs more and doesn’t seem to be super-purified but does have a higher alcohol content. Hello boys. See, for about as long as I’ve known that not all alcohols are created equal I’ve been interested in the shadowy world of alcohol content. Well, I call it shadowy but it’s more like “nobodygives-a-shit-y” because most people just go “yeah, gimme that bottle of bourbon, lets get hammered” and leave their booze choice at that. But in much the same way that if you bother to compare the sizes of things you buy at the supermarket you soon discover that some packages are smaller but still cost the same as the bigger ones, some kinds of alcohol – especially spirits – cost the same but contain less actual alcohol. Usually when it comes to vodka you either get around 37.5% alcohol content or 40% alc/cont, which may not sound like a big difference but when you’re spending
serious money on booze – and unless you’re drinking disguised paint thinner, you’re going to be paying at least $30 dollars for a 700nl bottle of the stuff – it all adds up. Oddly enough though, while other kinds of spirits regularly broke the 40% alc/cont barrier, especially if you were willing to pay a little more, finding a vodka that had more than 40% was pretty much impossible. Well, I’m sure some ultra-fancy boutique bottle shop might have stocked something like that but in my searching all over Victoria I’d been unable to find one since the New Zealand vodka brand 42 Below dialled down their content from 42% to 40%. And yes, that drop in alcohol content did kind of suggest that the whole thing might have been more than a little flexible (and that going over 40% might have resulted in a higher rate of tax, not that anyone’s bothered to answer my repeated questions on the subject). But it’s not like I’ve ever been one to let logic get in the way of passing out. So the big attraction with Absolut 100 was simple: where every single other vodka on the market was capped at 40%, it went up to 50%. Sure, it tasted horrible – so horrible, in fact, that even my vodka-dulled palette recoiled in horror at its bitter, oily, lingering taste – but like they say in the classics, “it’ll get ya drunk”. Okay, sure, it didn’t really seem to be getting me all that much drunker any time faster, but much like some guy who drives some insanely hotted-up death machine yet never goes over the speed limit, it’s good to know the power is there even if you never use it. Now, I’ve been around the block a few times so I know this kind of booze almost never becomes a mainstay on the bottle shop shelves: “for a limited time only”, as they say every time a fast food chain comes out with a burger you might actually want to eat. So once this stuff hit the shelves in the second half of 2012 I just figured it’d just be an experiment, here for a good time not a long time and all that. But then the weeks turned into months and the stock kept turning up on the shelves – sure, occasionally it’d look like it was running dry but then there’d always be more and hey, I was buying it so clearly it was selling – and I started to let myself think that maybe this was going to be a permanent thing. What a fool I was. This has happened to me before, of course. I spent a good part of a year looking in every bottle shop I walked past for Suntory Vodka in the square bottle – now that was a vodka you could drink straight – only to leave disappointed time and time again. But there the vanishing made at least a little sense: Suntory pulled their
regular vodka in favour of this “Ice” variant they sold in 500ml bottles for a while and now you can’t even get that. According to my online research Absolut 100 is vanishing from Dan Murphy’s across the state and while you can still have it home delivered, yeah, uh, no. It’s not even like they’ve stopped making it overseas! And yet for some reason that no-one seems able to explain to me, it’s slowly vanishing from my life, leaving me lost, alone and confused. Why would it push its way into my heart if it was only going to leave? What kind of world is it where relationships just end and no-one can explain why? You try and prepare yourself for this but there’s no real way to armour your heart against the emptiness and loss that follows this kind of abandonment and while you try to tell yourself that there’s nothing you could have done the niggling question remains: maybe if I’d done something different I wouldn’t be here today. Maybe if I’d bought more they might have thought it was a viable product to keep on the shelves. Maybe if every time I’d bought a bottle I’d said to the staff “keep getting this one in, it’s great!”, word would have filtered back to head office that it was a keeper. Maybe if I’d written to the Absolut company telling them how much I enjoyed and appreciated and… yes, even loved their product, they would have tried to keep it available. But it’s all too late now. Many stores no longer stock it, and the few that do only have a small amount left. I try to tell myself that it’s only a hiccup, that it’ll come back in stock soon enough and everything will be okay, but deep down I know that’s not what’s happening here. Deep in my heart I know that it’s over, that no matter how hard I ration out the last few drops the day is coming when it’ll be gone from my life forever. And then what? What am I supposed to do without the love of my life? What the hell is left for me in a world without – oh wait, I can just buy another brand of booze. Sheesh, that’s a relief. Move along folks, nothing to see here. Tony “seriously, if you know what’s going on with Absolut 100, let me know. *sob*” Montana
QUESTION:
Imagine you are stuck on an island - never to be rescued. You have only a discman, a life times supply of batteries and ONE album - what album would you want that to be?
Natalie Rogers
Seth Sentry
Pablo Vanderpole
Phil Jameson
(Forte Magazine writer)
(Rapper Extrodinaire)
(Dewolff)
(Grinspoon Frontman)
Arctic Monkeys Whatever people say I am, That’s what I’m Not
Aesop Rock Float
Leon Russle (his first album)
The Bangles Different Light
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