Forte #564 by Forte Mag

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sarah blasko

lamb of god

ballarat // bendigo // geelong // surfcoast // warrnambool // werribee

imogen brough

loc

LINE AT OUT ON

of mice and men

ly o w n e d

t n e c r 00 pe

OOD ARTS F C I S MU re business cultu

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d oper

the paper kites

issue 564 // 25 JULY 2013 // next issue: 8 aug

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A WORD FROM THE TEAM This fortnight we welcome Royalty into the world. It is 9:44am on print morning and as always we have left the Ed’s Note right until the last second. But fear not, I type with ease, as I reflect on the birth of a new Prince, today the world feels like a Harry Potter novel. It would seem as though the only people who are genuinely excited about this amazing birth are women, half of the population, as they are seemingly excited by the process of birthing in general. All you have to do is watch the way a woman watches ‘Teen Mom’ or ‘One Born Every Minute’ to understand the fixation. What I enjoy is the cynical attitude of the world that is on display on social media with regard to the birth, it seems almost every ‘bloke’ I know is taking to their favourite form of social media to drop a ‘Royal Baby’ related joke, the best one so far - “I have heard the Royal Baby is going to be called Stuart Broad, until it learns to walk that is”. I do wonder if the males perceived need to deflect the emotion of the birth with a poor attempt at humour is infact because they feel lost in the romantic nature of the ‘Birth of a Prince’ and do not know how to feel about? Or perhaps, and far more likely, we are just cynical pricks come two bit comedians since the rise of social media. Anyway - here is to ‘Prince X’ and to the hope that unlike his fighter pilot father, he grows to front a punk band called the ‘Royal Bastards’.

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the HIGHLIGHTS

THE LATEST ON international & national news & tours

Hail to the King Gizzard

Vans Warped Is Here

Considering the amount of love that seems to follow King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard wherever they go, it is unsurprising that they have been picked up by Dot Dash / Remote Control. Now, that is cool news for the band, but what about you? Well, the Melbourne garage-rock outfit will release their third album late September. Titled Float Along – Fill Your Lungs, the album will be released in special partnership between Dot Dash / Remote Control and the band’s own label, Flightless.

A heavy weight of expectation comes when you hear Vans Warped is heading to Oz, and we haven’t been let down. The line-up includes: The Offspring, Simple Plan, New Found Glory, Hatebreed, Tonight Alive, The Used, Parkway Drive, H2O, The Summer Set, Kids in Glass Houses, Man Overboard, Crown the Empire and The Dangerous Summer. Vans Warped hits Melbourne on December 7 with venue TBA. Vanswarpedtouraustralia.com.

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Earthcore Reminder As we enter the second half of the year, the light at the end of the festival tunnel appears a little brighter. Earthcore, Australia’s original outdoor music, arts and lifestyle festival, enters its 20th anniversary this year with a bang, with three main stages playing host to artists including Quivver, Eelke Kleijn, Boris Brejcha, Perfect Stranger and Tsuyoshi Suzuki. That is just the tip of the iceberg. November 29 - December 1. Earthcore.com.au. .........................................................................

The Drones Standing Tall It has been a busy year for The Drones in 2013. The band has toured nationally, including a show at the Sydney Opera House, and there was also the small matter of curating and performing at ATP’s I’ll Be Your Mirror festival. They even spent time in Spain. All this touring has to do with their latest album I See Seaweed which has just seen the release of its second single, ‘A Moat You Can Stand In’. The Hi-Fi – September 13 & 14. .........................................................................

Eagle and the Worm Find a Home If you are a fan of Eagle and the Worm then it is Christmas in August for you. The merry eight-piece band has scored residency at The Workers Club throughout next month, with their first gig taking place on Tuesday, August 6. They will then perform each Tuesday throughout the month with a different guest each time. Guests are: Flying Colours (6th), Bluebottles (13th), Hollow Everdaze (20th) and Sagmore (27th).

The Highlights: Where we’re dancing in the streets. Coming up you have… .........................................................................

The Stealthy Twelve Foot Ninja Genre-smashing five-piece Twelve Foot Ninja will head out on the highway at the end of next month for a string of shows. The band has won over people including Mike Portnoy, Dino Cazares and Wolf Van Halen, not to mention Fear Factory who the lads recently toured with. Last year saw the release of their debut album Silent Machine. Now they have delivered new single (and video scrapbook) ‘Shuriken’. The Corner – October 4.

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Falls Festival’s Third Home This year will now conclude with not only a Victorian and Tasmanian Falls Festival, but now a Byron Bay one as well. That‘s right kids, the big news is that the beloved Falls Festival has found a third home in sunny Byron Bay. Festival Founder Simon Daly: “We’re really excited to be heading north and expanding this year. The Byron Bay location couldn’t be better suited to everything that has always encompassed Falls in Lorne and Marion Bay – coastal and charming natural settings; a destination for our patrons to travel for.” Keep a sharp eye on fallsfestival.com.au for more.

Venus de Adalita Magic Dirt frontwoman Adalita has been busy at work on her sophomore solo album, but not so busy as to keep fans starved of new music completely. ‘All Day Venus’ is the awesome (I would go as far to saying freakin’ awesome) first taste of the as-yet-untitled follow-up to her 2011 self-titled debut. The album is expected in coming months, with Adalita working with the always reliable Lindsay Gravina. The Tote – August 2. .........................................................................

Save the Palace Theatre Early this month a Facebook page was set up to help save Melbourne’s iconic Palace Theatre. Within four days, it had received over 25,000 ‘likes’. You see, plans were floated to develop the venue into a five-star luxury apartment complex. At the time of writing, the plan hit a little snag, but that by no means it’s off the agenda. Music Victoria has also thrown its weight behind the good fight. Facebook.com/savethepalacemelb.

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Anything is Pozible Despite the incredibly bad pun in the header, there is a lot to love about crowdfunding platform Pozible; even more now that they have introduced Pozible Gigs. The project has been designed to encourage event co-ordinators, venues, musicians and anyone who has thought of throwing their own gig to turn the thought into reality. Submissions are open until August 12 and a cool $10,000 in cash prizes is up for grabs. Pozible.com/gigs. .........................................................................

Robbie Miller Unearthed Congratulations to Brisbane’s Robbie Miller for being crowned triple j unearthed’s National Indigenous Music Awards winner for 2013. A descendant of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunyjatjara people, Miller is a recent graduate of the QUT and was chosen from a pool of over 650. He will now fly to Darwin next month for the National Indigenous Music Awards. He will also release his debut EP before the year is out. .........................................................................

Worldwide Darling Downs As far as duos go, you’d be hard-pressed to find one with more cred than The Darling Downs. Featuring Kim Salmon (Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon, the Surrealists and a truckload more) and Ron S. Peno (Died Pretty), The Darling Downs have released their third album – and first in six years! It’s titled In the Days When the World was Wide. They have had a bit of a break and are raring to go. The Toff – July 27. .........................................................................

You Can Dance If You Want To This July 26 there is going to be a whole lotta shaking go on as Australia’s Biggest Dance Party takes place. ABDP, which raises funds for the Street Dreams Program, comes through the combined efforts of Musicians Making a Difference and the Salvation Army. 1 out of 3 children suffers abuse and neglect – we want them to find their feet. Catch them on TODAY on July 26. You can also donate by following the links through everydayhero.com.au.

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Jackie Onassis Sydney hip hop duo Jackie Onassis were once Australia’s best kept hip hop secret. That is not so much the case anymore. Kai Tan and Raph Dixon, two high school mates who decided to get the Jackie Onassis ball rolling in 2011, have been getting a lot of attention both locally and abroad thanks to their 2012 debut, Holiday. The Smokes Trails Tour is their first headlining run. Workers Club – August 10. .........................................................................

Star Wars Not so Far Away Well, apparently there is a new Star Wars movie in the works. They sure kept that quiet. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Star Wars Episode VII will be a headliner (hmm, the headliner) at Disney’s D23 Expo which gets underway on August 9. The event takes place once every two years, with 2011’s event showing early footage from films including The Avengers, Brave and Wreck-It Ralph. This should have them all beat. .........................................................................

Mike D Back in da House Beastie Boys’ Mike D has released a ten-minute-long mix to his Soundcloud page under the name Humberto V New Reactionaries, an amalgamation of Humberto, a designer for Kenzo, the album for which the mix was made, and New Reactionaries, a former alias for Mike D. Speaking with Kenzo, Mike D said how he wished to honour Humberto and what he was inspired by – that being bands including Bad Brains and Black Flag. .........................................................................

The Call of Pigeon Electro-pop outfit Pigeon will hit the road next month in support of their new single, ‘Curtain Call’. The outfit has had one mega year. They have toured nationally, found international love and released a Daft Punk medley which has racked up over 250,000 YouTube views. The band described the new single as “reminiscent of some kind of traditional tale involving a castle and a princess but set in space.” Can’t Say – September 13. .........................................................................

The Inquisitive Kieran Ryan You may have become familiar with Kieran Ryan through the now-split indie-rock duo Kid Sam, or you may have become familiar with him after the release of his self-titled debut earlier in the year. Either way, you’re a winner. The album received some very lovely words in the press, and now the singer-songwriter is hitting the road in support of his new single, ‘Are You a Conspirator’. Workers Club – September 14. .........................................................................

Will Watson’s Fortune Hailing from Brisbane, Will Watson is a roots musician and activist. He grew up in outback Queensland where

he formed a deep connection with Aboriginal Australian and Buddhist cultures. He started forming songs at 15, and now as a 19-year-old is sharing them with the world. Earlier in the year he released his debut single, ‘Privilege’. It is taken from his debut album, Fortune. Brunswick Hotel – October 22 & Labour in Vain – October 24. .........................................................................

A Taste of Violent Soho Violent Soho has dropped the single ‘In the Aisle’, the first taste from the band’s forthcoming third album, Hungry Ghost (September 6). Guitarist/vocalist Luke Boerdam has described the album as the one the band needed to make. It was recorded in Brisbane before mixing duties were handed over to John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth). Liberty Social – August 15. Be one of the first to hear their new material. .........................................................................

Fun Machine Get Naked Everything is better when you’re naked. Well, that is not true but we’ll roll with it as we welcome Canberra’s “sex-pop” foursome Fun Machine and their new single, ‘Naked Body’. Who is this Canberra band with a liking for flesh? They’re upbeat, energetic music-makers accompanied by exciting dance-moves, a skin-heavy dress code and playful antics. We can all get aboard that. AFTR Dark @ John Curtin – August 22. .........................................................................

Vance Joy Strikes Gold Vance Joy kicks off his tour mid next month, and if you think you still have some time to kill before you get tickets then you had better think again. The Melbourne singersongwriter has already sold out two Melbourne shows thanks to his Gold Status breakout single, ‘Riptide’. The track is from his debut albumm God Loves You When You Are Dancing. Vance has a third Melbourne show at The Corner on September 1. .........................................................................

The Stirring Lindsey Stirling Killing time on YouTube is a daily thing for many people and Lindsey Stirling is a name many have checked in on. The Californian-born violinst, dancer, performance artist and composer found a massive audience through YouTube where her original series of videos helped her earn over two million subscribers and 300-million views. She now has a self-titled album out and is heading our way. The Corner – August 27. .........................................................................

10 Years of For the Fallen Dreams Having toured here a couple of times before, Michigan metalcore outfit For the Fallen Dreams have developed quite a following in Australia. This year marks a milestone for the band with the four-piece clocking up ten years

A Swingin’ Gangsters’ Ball

The Return of Beyoncé

The swing dancing, cabaret and vaudeville extravaganza that is Gangsters’ Ball steps out in style this September with a nod to the Speakeasy clubs of the 1930s. Entertainment includes MC chanteuse Madame Leila Leontine, New York-based Broadville troupe Pretty Things Peepshow, acrobatic troupe Acrobatica, illusionist Adam Mada and juggler Jeremy Ansley. The Forum – September 14. Dress to kill. Gangstersball.com.au.

Bootyriffic superstar Beyoncé is bringing her Mrs Carter Show World Tour to Australia this October/November. B was last in Australia in 2009 as part of her I Am… tour, and pretty much anyone who has breathing functionality would know she just continues to dominate the music world. At the time of writing only one show per city had been announced, but it’s a safe bet further shows will be added. Don’t be slack though. Rod Laver Arena – October 22.

in the game. Over this time they have released four albums, including their latest, 2012’s Wasted Youth. The word on the street is that a new release is expected this year. The Corner – September 15.

with the forthcoming release of Oceania: Live in NYC. Released later in the year, the release features the band’s performance at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center late last year. Also on the SP agenda is the reissue of their 1996 box set The Aeroplane Flies High. The already bumper five-disc collection will now come with a whopping 90 bonus tracks.

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SBF = Super Best Friends We’ve heard a lot about bands that come out of WA or out of Adelaide or Melbourne, but Canberra is fastbecoming a breeding ground of musical talent. Take, for example, Super Best Friends. Dubbed ‘The Besties’ by their fans (you know there’s something going on when your band is given a nickname), the slacker punk trio is gearing up for the release of new material with a whambam tour. Rochester Castle, Melbourne – August 3. .........................................................................

New Smashing Pumpkins Smashing Pumpkins have entered the world of 3D

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IVF: The Musical Spanish researchers have found that the music of Nirvana, Metallica and Madonna increases the fertilisation chances of IVF eggs by 5%. Scientists from Barcelona’s Marques Institute fertility clinic injected almost 1,000 eggs with sperm, placing them all in incubators before playing a wide selection of music to half of them. Meanwhile, Oxford University fertility expert Dr Dagan Wells speculates that techno music may work best due to its “pounding bass.”

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THE

FORT-NIGHTLY CALENDAR & GIG GUIDE (WARRNAMBOOL): I HEART BUNNINGS GPAC: The Wedding Singer BLACK HATT: Blue Jam Free Entry from 9.30pm BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTEMAINE): Cash Savage & the Last Drinks OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Nat Allison (70’s00’s accoustic rock covers) BARKING DOG: 70s 80s Friday with live band Juke Box Hero BEAVS BAR: Jesse Reid ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live Good Faces for Radio & DJs Main Room Joe Joe and Terrace Joubin, open from 9pm AT THE HEADS: Live music from 5pm till 7pm (Barwon Heads)

Saturday July 27th july 26 at the wool exchange complex imogen brough friday & SUNDAY JULY 28 at CQ UNPLUGGED BEST OF THE BEST

Thursday July 25th

Friday July 26th

THE MAX HOTEL: $12 Parmi All Day All Night, Inquizitive Trivia from 7.30pm ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night THE BARWON CLUB: I, Valiance, Good Will Hunting, Ever Rest $10 Entry BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTEMAINE): As a Rival w/ Falconio BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Open Mic Night w/ Dave Dorman THE KAROVA LOUNGE: Psycroptic BEAVS BAR: Dave Anderson BLACK HATT: Tradies Night in the Bar from 5pm till 7pm, Open Mic from 8pm with acoustic, bands, solos & duets THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 EUREKA HOTEL: The Festival with Andy Murphy, James Fava, Tom Evans, Some Blonde DJ and Fluoro, with Simon One, Mick Shorty J, Dawson Vickers, Some Deckheads, Steve Toppa, Spency and Corey Ryan. Free ntry before 10.30pm Doors Opn 8pm

CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with Jesse Reid and DJ THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Figjam The KAROVA LOUNGE: Kerser w/ Rates SPHINX: Retro Ago-Go PIPING HOT CHICKEN SHOP: Ska Bang (Sea Shepherd Fundraiser) EDGE GEELONG: Levi & Cody plus DJ THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: BAR 1 - A Night of Country & Folk: Two Coloured Koi, Finderkeeper & Olly Friend THE MAX: 3 on The Tree THE WOOL EXCHANGE ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX: Imogen Brough TORQUEY HOTEL: Macondo Blowout, Ally Oop and the Hoopsters, Ryan Colley BARWON CLUB HOTEL: Psycroptic, King Parrot $15 entry doors open 8pm THE CAPITAL (Bendigo): The Dancers Company MARTIANS CAFE: Jed Rowe band THE LOFT: The Harlots LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE

BLACK HATT: Audemia vs Fistful of Steel – Back to School Party. ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Bands 9:30Midnight - with Regular Boys live THE KAROVA LOUNGE: Good Will Hunting w/ others DIGGERS HOTEL: live music BARWON CLUB HOTEL: Little Murders, The Interceptors, The Dipsticks. $10 entry THE POTATO SHED: ART (One Night Only) THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTLEMAINE): Bridge water + Guests BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Bak Bar Thievingbyrds (Full band, acoustic set) THE LOFT:Max Goes to Hollywood THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Wayne Thompson OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Michelle Parsons (Classic Rock and Pop Covers) GPAC: The Wedding Singer THE CAPITAL (Bendigo): The Dancers Comapny HOME HOUSE: DJs Steve Camp and Keith Evans plus Collision Album giveaways upstairs and Simon-one Downstairs CHINESE WHISPERS: Joel Fletcher THE MAX: 3 on The Tree EDGE: Andy Forster Duo plus DJ EUREKA: DJ One Trick. Main Stage RNB Party House, New Front Lounge; Disco – Funk Deep House

CITY QUARTER BAR: Tom and Tayla and DJ BEAVS BAR: Rosco LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live Stellar & DJs Mainroom Joubin and Terrace DJ Fabs, open from 9pm

Sunday July 28th ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Tiger Brown BLACK HATT: Sunday Hown Grown Marco Goldsmith Free Entry from 6pm. BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTLEMAINE): : Louise Adams OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Sarah Wilkinson (70’s-now covers with originals) THE COURTHOUSE: 6321 Specimen SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $11.00 BARWON CLUB HOTEL: Test Pilot Molly, Front bar. Luke Legs Mountain Goat Winter Sessions. GEELONG RSL: New Orleans Night Owls – Jazz CITY QUARTER BAR: Best of The Best CQ Unplugged winners from series 1 and 2. EDGE GEELONG: Matt & Marcus plus DJ LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Student & Industry Night (Free entry all night) w/ Live Unlimited & DJs Joe Joe Mainroom and DJ Yas Terrace

Monday July 29th BARWON CLUB HOTEL: $10 Parmis SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11 ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night LORD NELSON HOTEL: Steak/Parmi & Pot for $15 on presentation of student I.D THE COURTHOUSE: 6321 Specimen

Tuesday July 30th ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GPAC: Penny Plain by Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Drama Theatre THE SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11, Poker Night (free) GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 THE CAPTIAL (Bendigo): Delectable Shelter THE COURTHOUSE: 6321 Specimen THE EASTBANK CENTRE (SHEPPARTON): Sarah Blasko

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Wednesday July 31st BEAVS BAR: Karoke Open Mic with Dave Anderson BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia Night from 7:30pm CITY QUARTER BAR: Industry Night GEELONG HARLEY DAVIDSON: Motocycle Bootcamp, FEAT SETH ENSLOW GPAC: Penny Plain by Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Drama Theatre THE CAPTIAL (Bendigo): Sarah Blasko ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Trivia Night – great prizes from 8.30pm till 10.30pm THE SPHINX HOTEL: Steak Night from $16, Poker Night ($10 buy in) THE COURTHOUSE: 6321 Specimen GEELONG RSL: Parma & Pot Night $13

Thursday August 1st EUREKA HOTEL: Theme Parties and Headline acts from Andy Murphy, James Fava, Tom Evans, Some Blonde DJ and Indian Summer DJs and more. ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night BEAVS BAR: Andy Forster main bar. Tully on Tully main room. THE WENDOUREE CENTRE: Sarah Blasko THE LOFT: Tarryn Hawker THE COURTHOUSE: 6321 Specimen GPAC: Penny Plain by Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Drama Theatre, The Wedding Singer DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: Bogan Bingo 8pm start. Its Bingo with Balls!

BLACK HATT: Tradies Night in the Bar from 5pm till 7pm, Open Mic from 8pm with acoustic, bands, solos & duets THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 THE MAX HOTEL: Parmi All Day All Night $12, InnQUIZitive Trivia from 7.30pm till 10.30pm, amazing prizes, call to book your team’s spot

It’s Friday BLACK HATT: Drink promos from 5pm till 7pm (free entry) Crossfire Hurricane performing live free entry from 9.30pm LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: DJs Joe Joe Mainroom & Joubin in theTerrace plus live band Test Pilot Molly AT THE HEADS: Live music from 5pm till 7pm (Barwon Heads)

Friday August 2nd

Saturday August 3rd

BEAVS BAR: Rosco SPHINX: Retro Ago-Go THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: The Regular Boys THE BARKING DOG: 70s 80s Friday with live band Juke Box Hero LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARRNAMBOOL): Sarah Blasko THE COURTHOUSE: 6321 Specimen THE BARWON CLUB: Dirty York, Masons Ways $10 Entry THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness from 8:30pm, Bak Bar - Craig Sayer GPAC: Penny Plain by Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Drama Theatre, The Wedding Singer THE LOFT: The Kashmere Club, The Alamo Double EP Launch OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Performance Night (Monthly Open Stage) THE MAX: Trojan THE KOROVA LOUNGE: Apes CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind with live music then DJ EDGE GEELONG: Live music plus DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Thank Guinness

SPHINX HOTEL: 2 Fat 2 Skate THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Good Faces Duo THE BARWON CLUB HOTEL: The Glittergang. THE KAROVA LOUNGE: Alison wonderland BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTLEMAINE) : Dirt Farmer w/ D D Dumbo DIGGERS HOTEL: Live music BELLBRAE HALL: Victoriana Gaye GPAC: Penny Plain by Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Drama Theatre, The Wedding Singer OPIUM BAR: DJ Sever THE LOFT: Hayley Couper THE GATEWAY HOTEL: A taste of Tamworth MARTIANS CAFE: Amadeus Wolf & Sam Fletcher PIPING HOT CHICKEN SHOP: Scion Pirates LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARRNAMBOOL): Celtic Illusion CHINESE WHISPERS: Chinese Whispers Over Two Levels ft. Uberjack’d, Orkestrated, Some Blonde DJ, Matt Black,

Isaac Fryar & Tony Wardan HOME HOUSE: Upstairs: Courtney Mills, Heads n Tailz. Downstairs: DJ AK EDGE GEELONG: Live music and DJ OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Matt Giri (70’snow Covers) BEAVS BAR: Steve Pianto ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live music with Fig Jam - 9.30 till midnight TORQUAY HOTEL: Hey Charger CITY QUARTER BAR: live music and DJ LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live Band Stellar with DJs Joe Joe Mainroom & DJ Daniem in the Terrace open from 9pm

Sunday August 4th ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Des Cam Jazz Band BARWON CLUB HOTEL: Mountain Goat Winter Sessions – Sambrose. Front bar Good Faces for Radio with DJ Bodz BLACK HATT: Sunday Hown Grown Session Obession + Footprint Free Entry from 6pm. BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTLEMAINE): Broderick Smith THE EMPRESS HOTEL (North Fitzroy): Victoriana Gaye SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $11.00 THE CAPITAL (Bendigo): Elvis To the Max OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Merri Creek Pickers (9 piece Psychadelic outfit) LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live band Unlimited & DJs Yas in the Mainroom & Sulusi in the Terrace open from 9pm GEELONG RSL: Royal garden Jazz Band EDGE GEELONG: Live music plus DJ

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THE FORTE VENUE GUIDE! THE BARKING DOG

CITY QUARTER

GROWLERS

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CLOUD 9

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126 Pakington St. Geelong West

Cunningham Pier, Geelong

23 The Esplanade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Torquay

OPIUM BAR 15 James St. Geelong

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Peter Lalor Hotel

137 Pakington St. Geelong

96 Pakington St. Geelong West

HOME HOUSE

BARWON CLUB

Club TITANIUM

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30 Aberdeen St. Geelong

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JACK AND JILL

50 Little Ryrie St. Geelong

bar pizza

40-42 Moorabool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Geelong 509 Moorabool St. South Geelong

99 Ryrie St, Geelong

IRISH MURPHY'S

BARWON HEADS HOTEL

eastern station

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81 Humffray St Nth. Ballarat

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1 Bridge Rd. Barwon Heads

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THE BASEMENT 159

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THE EDGE

159 Moorabool St. Geelong

1/6-8 Eastern Beach Rd. Geelong

BEAVS BAR

ELEPHANT AND CASTLE

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77 Little Malop St. Geelong

158 McKillop St. Geelong

black hatt

THE EUREKA

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54 Little Myers St. Geelong

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THE BLUESTONE

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98 Little Malop St. Geelong

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THE gateway HOTEL

218-230 Princess 103 Marr St. Ballarat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hwy. Corio

Bridge hotel castlemaine

21 Walker St. Castlemaine

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THE CARLTON HOTEL 21 Malop St. Geelong

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chinese whispers

Cnr. Shorts Place. Geelong

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247 Moorabool St. Geelong

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LAMBYS

Cnr of Moorabool & Brougham St. Geelong

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THE MAX hotel

2 Gheringhap St. Geelong

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MRS. HYDE

11 Malop St. Geelong

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THE NATIONAL HOTEL

THE GROVEDALE HOTEL

191 Moorabool St. Geelong

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odyssey

236-258 Surfcoast Hwy

The Gateway Hotel

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218-230 Princess Hwy. Corio

611 Surfcoast Hwy. Mount Duneed

GEELONG RSL

Old Hepburn Hotel

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50 Barwon Heads Rd. Belmont

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236 Main Rd. Hepburn Springs

331 Mair St. Ballarat

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RUMORS 5 James St. Geelong

SLATE Pool Lounge ....................................

THE SPHINX 2 Thompson Rd. North Geelong

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TOAST 114 Moorabool St. Geelong

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TORQUAY HOTEL 36 Bell St. Torquay

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the wool exchange entertainment complex 44 Corio St. Geelong

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the unicorn 127 Sturt St. Ballart

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the yarra hotel 120 Lydiard St. Ballarat

sarah blasko july 31 at the capital, bendigo

Monday August 5th BARWON CLUB HOTEL: $10 Parmis 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 GPAC: Geelong Schools Music and Movement Festival 2013

Tuesday August 6th BRIDGE HOTEL: Trivia Night hosted by Lifon Uranus from 7.30pm, free event GPAC: Geelong Schools Music and Movement Festival 2013 ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night THE SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11, Poker Night (free) GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13

Wednesday August 7th ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8.30pm till 10.30pm BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia Night from 7:30pm CITY QUARTER BAR: Industry Night GPAC: Geelong Schools Music and 18

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Movement Festival 2013, Paul Kelly, the Spring and Fall Tour. BEAVS BAR: Karoke, Open Mic and Andy Forster THE SPHINX HOTEL: Steak Night from $16, Poker Night ($10 buy in) GEELONG RSL: Parma & Pot Night $13

Thursday August 8th BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Open Mic Night w/ Dave Dorman EUREKA HOTEL: Theme Parties and Headline acts from Andy Murphy, James Fava, Tom Evans, Some Blonde DJ and Indian Summer DJs and more. GPAC: Geelong Schools Music and Movement Festival 2013 THE KAROVE LOUNGE: King of The North BLACK HATT: Tradies Night in the Bar from 5pm till 7pm, Open Mic from 8pm with acoustic, bands, solos & duets ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: Bogan Bingo 8pm start. Its Bingo with Balls!

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Bernard Fanning By Natalie Rogers

“Big Scary are my secret weapon! They write songs that get under your skin immediately.” That’s one hell of a compliment coming from one of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters when asked why he picked the Melbourne duo to open his show. “They play and sing with intent, and that’s absent from so much of the music that’s all over TV and the airwaves at the moment.” From the very beginning of the interview, when Bernard politely excused himself to get a glass of water, I could tell he was a gentleman – and when I put this to him he responded with a light-hearted cheekiness. “Oh that’s rubbish! Don’t spread rumours like that! That’s terrible!” What followed on from that was a candid chat about his hopes for his upcoming tour, the likelihood of hearing any Powderfinger tracks at his gigs, and why he would like everyone to listen to his latest offering, Departures, multiple times. “We’re coming to a town near you and we’re really excited!” he began. “I have a new band with me and the vibe amongst us is really good. It’s a really energetic group and everyone is really good at what they do. I can’t wait! Between Tea & Sympathy and Departures it should make for a really fun, up show, with moments that are mellow as well, so there’s something for everyone and we’re hoping to make it as dynamic as possible. With Powderfinger and doing my own stuff, I always try to put on a show so that people who are prepared to spend their bucks to go to a gig, get more than their money’s worth.” With that, I asked the question on everyone’s lips: Will you play any Powderfinger classics? “I will not be playing any Powderfinger at this show,” Bernard explained. “It would defeat the purpose of not being in the band. I’m not saying it’s something that I’ll never do – I just don’t want to do it now. Maybe that will change in the future, but I wrote Departures to take on tour and that’s all I want to focus on at the moment.” Departures is Bernard’s first solo release since calling it a day with rock’n’roll juggernaut Powderfinger. “It was all recorded in L.A., except a few of my homemade demos. Joe Chiccarelli was the producer, and the word legendary is often put before his name!” Bernard laughed. “He’s been making records for forty years. He was Frank Zappa’s engineer for Sheik Yerbouti, and he’s made records with Etta James, The Raconteurs, Beck, The Shins, Elton John and, more recently, Augie March and Boy and Bear. He’s worked with … ahh, everyone!” Bernard joked. “So he has this incredibly varied CV, and that’s why I’ve always wanted to make a record with him. “He has access to all of these great musicians who’ve played with all sorts of people. I just said to him at the start ‘let’s get a bunch of people who are obviously really good players but who are also really good guys’. I wanted it to feel like a band, and it did! It was incredibly fun.” Bernard admits he let Joe take the reins production wise – something that was new to him. “With Joe I was prepared to say ‘okay, you take this where you want to go and I’ll follow you.’ I trusted his experience. There are a lot of layers to the writing and the production and there are a lot of ideas that are placed very subtly, and that’s revealed after a few listens.” Departures is out now through Dew Process and its success has been a surprise to all, including Bernard himself. “It’s been going really good – it’s great! And the shows are selling fast too, but there are still tickets for the Geelong show I’m sure.” Supporting Bernard, alongside Big Scary, is newcomer Vance Joy. “Vance Joy only has an EP. That’s all he’s made, but he has an album coming out I think. For me what appeals with both of those bands is that they mean it; they feel it and you’ll hear that from the first note that they play. So come along – you won’t be disappointed.” When&Where: The Palace, Melbourne – August 9; GPAC, Geelong – August 10

Staff and Management of the EMC Group Geelong strongly enforce a no-drug policy. Enjoy great music & drinks whilst staying drug-free.

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Of Mice & Men By Xavier Fennell

Soundwave is arguably one of the best festivals in Australia, especially if you’re partial to music on the heavier end of the spectrum. The festival secures acts from all points of the world as well as all sub-genres of metal. Whilst the festival itself finished months ago, its waves are still crashing on Australian shores. Californian metalcore act Of Mice & Men are returning down under for a tour with Bring Me The Horizon (you know, that band with Oli Sykes…). Lead singer Austin Carlile was hanging out in New York taking care of some album preparation when I spoke to him. The album itself is yet to be announced, but Carlile has given hints that the highly anticipated release with come with a more rock n’ roll-structured feel. Since their conception in 2009 at the hands of lead singer Austin Carlile, Of Mice & Men have risen to prominence with a sound that is classic metalcore/ hardcore, with heavy breakdowns, machine gun lead breaks, and the skilful combination of screaming and melody from Austin. Along with the release of their two studio albums, Of Mice & Men (2010) and The Flood (2011), Of Mice & Men have had the opportunity to play some of the largest festivals and tours in the US. Austin spoke happily about Australia’s own Soundwave festival. “There’s a lot of similarities with Soundwave and other festivals, but something that stood out for me was the organisation of the festivals, from catering to greenrooms and that kind of stuff. I always say that

Australia is one of my favourite places to tour; it’s like the excitement and appreciation of the Japanese mixed with the respect and care of Europe.” As the release of their new album grows closer and anticipation rises, Of Mice & Men fans are all scrambling for any information they can get on the yet to be announced release. Austin isn’t giving anything away, but he was able to tell me where the album was at right now, and what was to come next. “We’ve been doing pre-production for about 4 weeks now and we’re doing 8 weeks of that. As soon we’re done producing the album we have one day off before we come to Australia, and after that we’ll be having some time off to practice all the new stuff live and get it right and get our new set together. I don’t think we’re quite ready to bring our new songs to a live setting just yet though.” As is often the case with hardcore or metalcore bands, the name ‘Of Mice & Men’ instils some sort of deeper meaning in the listener. Originally a novel by John Steinbeck depicting the struggles of two men, ‘Of Mice and Men’ gave Austin a source of inspiration when beginning his new band. “John Steinbeck got the idea for the name and the story from an old renaissance soliloquy, basically an old 13th century poem. I gave this name to the band because it’s about the struggle; it’s about how the well-paved plans of mice, and of men, can often go awry. With our third album, our name and our message are really gonna click together and people are actually gonna be able to see.”

When&Where: Festival Hall, Melbourne – October 9. Also on the bill: Bring Me The Horizon and Crossfaith.

Lamb of God By Natalie Rogers

“Hey Australia, we’re coming down to bash your faces in!” John Campbell, bassist for Lamb of God, chose Forte to relay this very important message regarding their forthcoming tour of Australia this spring. “I hope that doesn’t sound too clichéd – they told you I’m just the bass player right? I’m not good with words. I don’t write the lyrics!”

It’s no secret that Lamb of God are hugely respected and widely thought of as the measuring stick for other metal bands, but when I put this to John his humility was surprising. “Oh people are crazy! Aww, [in an embarrassed tone] I don’t know. People always want someone or a band to look up to. I’m mean, I’m honoured, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily true.

John was clearly in a jovial mood during our chat last week and why shouldn’t he be? Their seventh studio album, Resolution, has critics and fans alike eating out of the palm of their hands, they’re about to embark on a ginormous world tour from New York to The Netherlands and everywhere in between, and after months of very well-publicised trouble they’re back together stronger and hungrier than ever!

“I have tons more confidence than I did at the beginning – we all do! I figure we’ve been doing this for eighteen years, so we must be doing something right. Being on tour is strange for me – all that sitting around waiting until you’ll be on stage can be torture. Everything that I do is focused on that. In kind of a sick way, when everything clicks and you’re playing well, you feel an incredible high that nothing else beats! In fact, it’s more of a thrill now than ever,” John admitted. “In a very selfish way I look forward to having the opportunity to be doing that every night.”

“Yes, it’s all been leading up to this – our eighteenyear career has been leading up to this very tour!” John chuckled. “Okay, I may be a little facetious, but technically it kinda has! We’ve been wanting to tour with Meshuggah forever, so to be able to have this tour happen in Australia is perfect! It’s going to be a great time.” The confidence that John exudes is infectious, and I could tell that he’s very proud of their latest offering. “I think all of our records show a progression from the last, so if you were to pick a track from each record and put them together you’d definitely notice improvement in the production, the songwriting, the way the song is put together, and the performance. I think we’ve developed in all of those areas, and as people as well in those eighteen years we’ve been a band.”

The lucky punters will be treated to a night of pure metal – be sure to listen out for John’s favourite tracks. “I like playing ‘The Undertow’ a lot, but it’s a song that people can really freak out to – and I’ve noticed that people love ‘The Number Six’. It’s going to be fun. We’re very excited! We’re as excited as you guys. Australia is definitely worth the trip.”

When&Where: Festival Hall, Melbourne – September 22.

The Paper Kites By Tex Miller

If you’re lucky enough to get your song played on American television, then congratulations, because it is no secret that the US is one of the hardest music markets to break crack. Melbourne indiefolk-rock quintet The Paper Kites has achieved just that, with their track ‘Featherstone’ being featured on the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy. With their debut record about to drop, I sat down with frontman Sam Bentley ahead of their national tour in the upcoming month.

The latest single from the band is ‘St Clarity’ and the band chose to work with award-winning director Natasha Pincus, who is most well-known for directing Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’. The main inspiration for choosing Natasha came from her philosophy on the importance of storytelling throughout a video clip rather than just having a band play in a room. Following on from the success of their previous singles ‘Bloom’ and ‘Woodland’, this video has racked up, so be sure to check it.

Over the past three years the band has constantly refined the folk sound that can be heard on their EPs Woodland and Young North which were released in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The simplistic arrangements of delicate acoustic guitar and blissful vocal harmonies are what make these songs so memorable. States, the latest release from the band, takes on a more electronic feel whilst adhering to that folk-rock sound that we have grown to love since the band’s inception.

Having supported the likes of Boy and Bear, Josh Pyke and Bombay Bicycle Club over the past couple of years, straight after this run of shows, The Paper Kites are headed to the US to play a few shows with fellow indie acoustic troubadour Dallas Green, aka City and Colour. As any folk muso would be, Sam is excited to share the stage with Dallas due to his terrific musicianship and meaningful lyrics.

“We had a fantastic team working with us this time around, and Tim Coghill and Wayne Connolly really helped develop the ideas for this record. We had forty demos at the beginning, and looking back now it’s a pretty eclectic record and the best thing that we have done thus far. People are always going to have preconceived ideas about what you’ve released previously, but we are always looking to develop our sound and this collection of songs. I think, is a big step forward for us. That’s not to alarm people, because there is also the signature Paper Kites sound on there as well!” Sam relates about the recording process.

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“We couldn’t really say no to this tour. We are massive fans of Dallas’s music and I really like how he is so diverse within his music. Fronting Alexisonfire and doing the whole hardcore [thing], to then transition into the City and Colour folk thing is simply brilliant. For an Australian band to support someone so big where we are in our career is great. He’s playing these 2,500 seat theatres each night and he’s doing two shows at Club Nokia in L.A. The majority of us haven’t been to the US before, so this is gonna be one hell of a trip. Come and check out what we’ve been working on whilst we’re in the country!”

When&Where: The Forum, Melbourne – September 28.

TALK OF THE

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Keepin' it Regional!

dallas frasca

BY POPULAR DEMAND

the sphinx

imogen brough

two sugars

“ It’s all meant to be a little on the down low, but you might be in for a little surprise in the next few months...” - OLLY FRIEND

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TALK OF THE TOWN! Talk of the Town: Where we like big butts, we cannot lie. Coming up you have… .........................................................................

Uphold Murphy’s Law New York hardcore heavyweights Murphy’s Law are set to tour Australia for the first time this year don’t ya know. A first Aussie run is always a treat, but considering the band formed way, way back in the early eighties it makes this first-run a long time coming. The band has always been led by the one and only Jimmy Gestapo, and while he remains the only original founding member, the band’s line-up has featured an amazing roll call that has featured former members of Danzig, Skinnerbox, The Bouncing Souls, Mucky Pup, Dog Eat Dog, Hanoi Rocks and Agnostic Front. From their humble beginnings in Astoria, Queens (NY), the band has become a cornerstone of America’s hardcore legacy. They released their debut album The Best of Times in 1991, incorporating elements of funk and ska way before it was cool to do so. Their latest original album is 2001’s The Party’s Over, but there have been whispers of a newie. The current incarnation of the band features Todd Youth (ex-Danzig), Raven, Dug ‘The Mouth’ Donohoe, Vincent Alva and Ian ‘The Welshman’ Meredith. The Barwon Club, Geelong – September 19. Trivia note: Grand Theft Auto IV buffs may recognise Gestapo from the game – he played The DJ of Liberty City Hardcore. The game also features the Murphy’s Law Track ‘A Day in the Life’. .........................................................................

Dangerously Beautiful Jericco Their debut album Beautiful in Danger (produced by Mr. Dependable, Forrester Savell) has been going so well that Jericco decided that one national tour wasn’t enough. The Melbourne-based alternative rock outfit showed they were a band not to be taken lightly with their debut self-titled EP. Shows with bands including Mammal, Dead Letter Circus, The Getaway Plan and Karnivool only backed up the hype that was following the band. On the second leg of the tour the band has stepped it up and will not only play the album in its entirety, but they will also serve up a handful of earlier favourites. So what you’re promised now is 80 minutes of Jericco gold. You gotta love that. The Karova, Ballarat – August 22 & The Wool Exchange, Geelong – August 31. .........................................................................

The Future of DJ Sever Futuristic Juice is the new mixtape from the alwaysup-to-something DJ Sever. In a note to his fans on his SoundCloud page, Sever writes: “I thought I’d finally get some time to bang out this mixtape for the folks who’ve been real patient & waiting until now in 2013. Thanks heaps to my peeps that have come down each show to support & bring some big energy to the floor ... It’s what it’s all about & makes me love what I do even more.” Clocking in at around 21-minutes, it is the perfect mix to throw on as you get ready for a night on the town. Being the nice guy that he is, he has made it available for free download through soundcloud.com/djsever. You can catch him at Opium Bar, Geelong on August 3 & 17 or at Ballarat’s Element Nightclub Saturday nights from 11pm as part of Trapp…ed. .........................................................................

Old Hepburn Hotel The Old Hepburn Hotel is one busy little venue and has a bunch of stuff to take you through the end of July and beyond. If you have something handy, write these down; or tear this page out of Forte and put it in your wallet. Coming up you have: Nat Allison – July 26; Michelle Parsons – July 27; Sarah Wilkinson – July 28; Performance Night – August 2; Matt Giri – August 3; Merri Creek Pickers – August 4; Uncle Gus – August 10; Tank Dilemma – August 11; and Dog Trumpet – August 18. A note on Merri Creek Pickers: They are a 9-piece psychedelic outfit replete with loads of vocal harms, dancing bass riffs, double drum kits, double lead lines and as many solos as they can get away with. So head on down, grab a bite to eat, and enjoy a top-notch night of music. Keep up to date through oldhepburnhotel.com.au.

ballarat / bendigo / geelong / surfcoast / warrnambool / werribee

Jamming with Royston Vasie

In the Words of Sydonia

The Glowing Jed Rowe

It’s time to do the chivalrous thing and give up your bus seat for Royston Vasie as the band clocks up a few clicks in support of their sweet debut album, Tanah Merah. The album is so fresh the new CD smell is still in the air and follows sold-out shows at Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club and Sydney’s Oxford Arts Factory. The album features the single ‘Come On’, which not only features harmonies from Courtney Barnett and Immigrant Union’s Bob Harrow, but the press release also came with the mighty boast of it possessing “the greatest bass line ever written”. You can listen to the album (or buy – yeah, go with that option) through Milkrecords.com.au. The Karova, Ballarat – August 10. The BUSJAM show features a bumper cast of supports including Bad News Toilet, Scatterpillar, John Georgiou & The Blowouts and Trigger Jackets.

There has been a lot said about Melbourne band Sydonia. But while critical praise is one this, peer praise is something else altogether. The band has been in the game for 15 years or so, over which time they have toured with Stone Sour, Slipknot, Machine Head and Lamb of God. Their debut EP Given to Destroyers made a huge impression on those including Randy Blythe and Jim Root of Slipknot/Stone Sour who said: “Sydonia, they’re a really amazing band, and the lead singer’s got a very unique voice. They’re really heavy but they incorporate so many different vibes that it’s a little bit hard to categorize them musically. I think, too, that’s something music’s sort of lost.” Their latest release is 2012’s Waiting for Words That Don’t Exist. The Newmarket, Bendigo – August 23. Friends include Zelorage, I Am Duckeye (with album Husband in tow) and Eater of the Sky.

It’s nothing new for kids to listen to their parent’s record collection – sometimes reluctantly. In the case of Jed Rowe, things were a little different. Not only did Jed dig his parent’s tunes, but those tunes were coming from his parent’s band rehearsals. It was a moment which helped shape the path Jed would walk. His dad taught him the beginner guitarist standard ‘Wild Thing’, and before he knew it Jed was taking the guitar to school and writing songs with a mate during lunchtime. Together with Michael Arvanitakis and Michael DiCiecco the trio makes up the Jed Rowe Band. Last year saw the release of The Ember and the Afterglow, album number two for the trio. Comprising elements of rock, blues, folk and altcountry, the band features the brilliant Weissenborn work of Jed. Martians Cafe, Deans Marsh – July 26.

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Diva Demolition Will Rock You

Forever & Shortfall Doubleheader

The Sounds of Kashmere Club

4, 3, 2, 1, GO! Diva Demolition will kick your arse six ways from Sunday. Taking their cues from bands including The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Joan Jett, Diva Demolition formed out of Adelaide in 2005. Singer and bassist Kylie Cowling joined her first band at the age of 13. After growing weary of playing covers, she formed Kaleidoscope in 2001. Guitarist Sherree Newton fell in love with her old man’s guitar. He would later bestow the life-changing instrument on her. She studied at the Adelaide Conservatory of Jazz but her inner rock demon was too strong. This year they have supported KISS, Motley Crue and Aerosmith so you know they have the rock goods. Their debut album is Diva Disease and you can check out its titular single on YouTube. You will be rocked; oh yes, you will be rocked. The Newmarket, Bendigo – September 1.

Bendigo is set to receive a double-shot of Melbourne hard rock next month with Forever and Shortfall set to pay a visit. Forever hit the ground running last year with the release of their debut single, ‘Something for Nothing like Diamonds for No One’. The band uses Everland Studios as their home base and produces and records all their music to keep it exactly how they wish it to be heard. They will be tracking their debut EP later in the year so keep your eyes and ears open. Five-piece Shortfall began their music journey many years ago when the Borg brothers (Simon, Chris and Mark) met Andrew Downing through a mutual friend. The guys began to work on what would become their debut EP Falling Awake, and when it came time to take the music to the stage, they welcomed Dave Glavich to the fold and the beast was complete. Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – August 17.

In 2011, south-western Victoria-bred band Kashmere Club released their debut EP, Roundabout Girl, to music lovers at Melbourne’s Hi-Fi. The show was a treat, while the folk and blues-infused EP featured on PBS, Triple R and rage. The band has filled in time since by supporting artists including Bonjah and Stonefield and is now thrilled to welcome new EP, Lost & Sound. Readers of this fine publication may have caught our By Popular Demand piece with the band early last month. Speaking about the EP back then the band said: “The EP is still very much our sound, but this time around there is a definite attention to detail and more trial and error to achieve the energy and sounds we wanted for the songs.” The Loft, Warrnambool – August 2.

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The Pleasurable Jimmy Barnes There are some musicians out there who are known just as well by their nickname. Say ‘The Boss’ and people will know you’re speaking about Bruce Springsteen; ‘The King’ is Elvis; ‘Satchmo’ is Louis Armstrong, and so on. Then there is Jimmy Barnes, affectionately called Barnesy. Yep, that little Aussie tradition of throwing a ‘y’ on the end of a name has served the Aussie great very well over the years. The Scottish-born Aussie rock singer is one of the most popular and best-selling Australian artists of all time. We know his story pretty darn well. After working as an apprentice iron smelter, Barnes took on gigs in Fraternity and Orange before finding a home in Cold Chisel. By 1980 the band was the biggest name in Australian music, and during the years 1978-1983 Barnesy recorded seven albums with the group (including two live albums). After barely catching his breath after Cold Chisel’s Last Stand tour, Barnesy launched his solo career. His debut solo album, Bodyswerve, was released in 1984 and hit the #1 spot on the ARIA music chart. He is currently in the process of writing a new album, the follow-up to 2010’s Rage and Ruin, and has decided to hit the road to give fans a wee taste. Welcome to the Pleasure House. Prince of Wales Showgrounds, Bendigo – September 7. .........................................................................

The Stiffys Set Sail Now, some of you more immature readers out there would giggle when you hear the name The Stiffys mentioned. And who could blame you. When it comes to the dynamic duo, there is some funny stuff going on (and not just their name). The band that is Jason Leigh (bass) and Adam Stagg (drums) dress like sailors and sing about erections. And they’re damn good when it comes to doing it. Last year the band released their 13-minute debut EP which featured their breakthrough single, ‘Call & Response Song’. They have since played the Big Day Out and supported Bam Magera, as well as gain a rabid online following thanks to their feel-good social webisode messages and instructional videos including ‘How to be Cool Guys’, ‘Talking to Girls’ and ‘Posters’. Beav’s Bar, Geelong – August 29 & Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – August 30.

Into the Valley of Midnight Juggernauts With their new album Uncanny Valley freshly on the shelves, Midnight Juggernauts have a little touring to do. The album’s journey began in a church in the French countryside and also found itself being tinkered and toyed with in studios in Sydney and Melbourne. The album features the track ‘Memorium’ which is accompanied by the film clip titled ‘Wireframe Memories: A Chronological Tour through the Pioneer Years of CGI’. The video tracks the progress of Computer Generated Imagery, so if you want to be educated as you’re entertained, you know where to go. The Karova, Ballarat – August 23. Trivia note: Uncanny Valley is a hypothesis introduced by pioneering roboticist Masahiro Mori: “I have noticed that, in climbing toward the goal of making robots appear human, our affinity for them increases until we come to a valley, which I call the uncanny valley.”

Luck of Brian Kennedy Falls Road is the main road that runs through Belfast on Northern Ireland. Generally referred to as the Falls Road, it is one of the most well known streets in Ireland due to The Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict which occurred in Northern Ireland. Songman Brian Kennedy was born and raised on Falls Road, and has said about the time: “I shouldn’t have become a singer really, given where and how my life started, but my voice had other plans and saved me in the end.” In his early days he would harmonise, with all things ambulances, and would often busk on the streets – no mean feat given where he was. At 18 he moved to London and would sing wherever his voice would allow him. He has worked extensively with legendary Irish songman Van Morrison and performed on stage with artists including Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Ray Charles. Otway Estate – September 15.

Cheap Girls on Smith Street Anglesea Music Festival The Anglesea Music F estival is only a bub as far as Australia’s festivals go, but it has made a big impression already, receiving the ‘Australia Day 2013 Community Event of the Year from the Surf Coast Shire’. Full line-up details remained unavailable at the time of writing, though we can tell you that Sandi Thom, Dallas Frasca (pictured) and Brian Cadd will be performing. And that is one hell of a good start! As well as the main performing stage the festival also welcomes a fringe venue and buskers location. The Youth Marquee, meanwhile, is a new and innovative program aimed at giving young talent a kick start. Anglesea – October 18 through October 20. For everything you need to know please visit angleseamusicfestival.com.au.

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Towards the end of next month, Ballarat will welcome Michigan’s Cheap Girls and Melbourne darlings The Smith Street Band – which gives you plenty of time to get in shape to look your best. Cheap Girls was formed in 2007 by Ian and Ben Graham (yep, a brother’s band) and mate Adam Aymor. Likened to bands including The Replacements and Sugar, the band has toured with The Gaslight Anthem, The Bouncing Souls and Against Me! among others. As for The Smith Street Band, well, they can do no wrong. Their album Sunshine & Technology came in at the very respectable #13 spot on No Heroes Magazine’s Top 50 Australian Heavy Albums off All Time, and not too long ago they sold out a headlining spot at The Corner – their biggest headliner to date! Alcohol will be drunk; good times will be had; boys and girls will dance. The Karova – August 25.

Iluka’s Glory Days

Rainbow Serpent Festival

Songbird and “old soul” Iluka will join Mark Wilkinson at his Beav’s Bar, Geelong show on August 15. The NSW indie-pop singer was crowed the winner of 2012’s First Break competition, a revamp of the New Artists to Radio (NA2R) which has run for the past decade. The win is a big deal, with Iluka receiving support for two singles as well as commercial radio play and support for touring and marketing. Despite this glowing start, the future looks even brighter for the songbird and her fans. We have the release of her debut album Glory Days and its single, ‘Sweet Marianne’. For those unfamiliar, Iluka is said to evoke memories of Edith Piaf, Janis Joplin and Dusty Springfield. She is also a well-travelled soul, having worked with orphaned children in Cambodia, lived in a Buddhist monastery on the Thai-Myanmar border, and trekked the mountains of Lao.

“While dancing their Dreamings, aborigines spiritually connect themselves to the land and to the Dreamtime. The drumming of feet during the dance draws the earth into dialogue with the dancers, allowing the ceremony to bring the power of the Dreaming to life.” Organisers of the Rainbow Serpent Festival have dropped the first line-up for the 2014 event and it is a ripper. The 17th edition of the festival, which takes place January 24 through January 27 and is expected to bring in a bumper crowd of 10,000, welcomes Donato Dozzy, Michael Mayer, King Unique, FreQ Nasty, Felguk, Zion Train, The Funk Hunters, Snareophobe, Dub Kirtan Allstars, Shane Gobi, Banco de Gala, Hux Flux, Rocky, Kularis, Nico Stojan and Phaxe. The festival, which began as a small gathering in a secluded clearing, has grown to an internally recognised celebration of music, dance, colour and expression. The name of the festival is distinctly Australian, coming from the Dreamtime story. Festival Director Tim Harvey: “Part of our goal every year is to find outstanding, contemporary talent from a range of genres and countries. We’re really excited because, as amazing as the currently announced acts are, they are only a hint of what is to come with some very big announcements on the horizon.” Tickets and further information is available now through rainbowserpent. net.

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Geelong Fringe Festival On August 31, the last day of winter, Courthouse ARTS, Geelong will host the Geelong Fringe Festival. Two of Geelong’s biggest art organisations are behind the festival. Courthouse ARTS Artistic Director Ross Mueller sets the tone: “The New Wilderness is a fantastic partnership for us with Deakin University. We cannot wait to see what will be constructed, consumed and presented in this great framework of exciting presentation.” We are well aware of the fantastic work of CA, and The New Wilderness is its perfect counterpart, using the visual arts, creative writing and performing arts to “to engage young people on the disappearing manufacturing industry and the vast spaces it leaves behind”. Early program highlights include the continuation of the A Conversation in the Key Of… series and Burke & Wills: The Expedition. Keep a keen eye on courthouse.org.au for updates information. .........................................................................

Dirt Farmer Strikes Twice “Breezy slacker pop and roll” is how Albury-Wodonga outfit Dirt Farmer describe their sound, and they have been making it since 2010. During this time the band has released two EPs; last year’s well-received selftitled debut and the newie, Delilah Lightning. The EP was recorded and produced by Anna Laverty whose extensive credits include Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Florence and the Machine and Paul Kelly. Laverty said working with the band was “like being in an intense bubble of creativity for over a month – from pre-production through to mixing … of all the prospects I’ve worked on I don’t think I’ve been so excited about the release of an EP as I am for Delilah Lightning.” The band is led by Stu Barlow who has worked as the touring guitarist for Lisa Mitchell. The Karova, Ballarat – August 9.

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Geelong Vs Bendigo: Battle of the Jumpsuit In case you haven’t heard, rockers The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are heading to Australia a little later in the year. Now, this is not your standard tour. This is a ‘Who Loves Us More’ tour. The band has a date lined up for November 15 where they will play one of Geelong, Bendigo or Melbourne. But because this is Talk of the Town, and not Talk of the City, we will lock Melbourne in the cupboard and throw away the key. This is about Geelong versus Bendigo and who wants it more. This is a crowdsourced tour, meaning your dollars will help sway the band one way or the other. So, the band, well, they formed out of Middleburg, Florida in 2003 and released their debut album, Don’t You Fake It, in 2006. In honour of their ten-year anniversary the band released Et Tu, Brute? earlier in the year. Hit up redjumpsuit.giggedin. com to make a pledge. Who wants it more? .........................................................................

Surf Coast Arts Trail Last year the Surf Coast held its first Surf Coast Arts Trail and it was such a success that the event returns in 2013. The second trail will include 29 artists and 60 venues and will stretch from Connewarre to Bambra and everywhere in between. Artists include painters, print makers, jewellers, photographers, animators and potters, while an array of studios and demonstrations will feature along the way. Those that take in the trail will

Penny Plain World-renowned master of marionettes, Ronnie Burkett returns to Geelong with his beautifully dark apocalyptic comedy, Penny Plain. Canada’s Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes thrilled Geelong audiences in 2009 with the unforgettable Billy Twinkle - Requiem for a Golden Boy and makes a welcome return as part of GPAC’s 2103 Deakin University Theatre Season. Part gothic thriller, part apocalyptic drawing room comedy, Penny Plain comes to Geelong for a limited season, July 30 to August 3, in the Drama Theatre. From her overstuffed chair, Penny Plain sits listening to the news of civilization’s inevitable end. When her companion dog Geoffrey leaves to live as a man, Penny’s end-of-days vigil is interrupted by survivalists, a serial killer, a crossdressing banker, talking dogs and mysterious strangers, all seeking sanctuary from Mother Earth as she begins reclaiming her ground. Penny Plain may be blind, but she hears a lot about the fate of mankind. Ronnie Burkett has produced some of the world’s most elaborate adult puppetry. His company Theatre of Marionettes was formed in 1986 and after more than 25 years Ronnie still creates and oversees every aspect of of the productions from hand-crafting the marionette puppets to performing every character on stage. Created and performed by Ronnie Burkett Drama Theatre GPAC Tuesday July 30 to Saturday August 3 at 8pm Bookings phone GPAC Box Office on 5225 1200 or go online www.gpac.org.au

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TALK OF THE TOWN! even be able to have a chinwag with the artists. Mayor, Cr Libby Coker: “We are really fortunate to have so many talented artists in our community, many of whom are inspired by our sense of place and our natural surroundings. The first event was an outstanding success and proved incredibly popular with locals and visitors alike, creating a terrific atmosphere and I’m sure this year’s trail will also prove a hit.” The Surf Coast Arts Trail takes place across August 10 & 11. Follow the links through surfcoast.vic.gov.au for more. .........................................................................

Song Swap Has You Covered Quick bite: There’s something quite interesting taking place at Bendigo’s Newmarket Hotel this Saturday night, July 27. Three original bands, Anchor and the Butterfly, Band of Cloud duo and Liam Thorpe will take to the venue to perform not only their own tunes, but also one track of each other’s. Yep, she’s the ol’ song swap. All three acts have been around the track a few times – Liam was a member of legendary Bendigo outfits Goya’s Child and Surrender Munkies – so this should be a ripping night. .........................................................................

Sparkling Daniel Champagne Since picking up his first guitar at the age of five, songman Daniel Champagne has just about spent more time with the instrument in his hands than time without. He began writing at the age of 12, and at 18 he left school, turned pro and hit the road. Already loved here, he is now causing a stir abroad. Firefly Column, USA: “Today I saw the Future of Folk! – Festival goers flocking in their thousands towards the main stage to witness the young musical phenomenon from Australia dish out an absolute show-stopper at the evening’s end.” Babushka, Ballarat – July 27. .........................................................................

Max Goes to Hollywood on the A-List

Fatalistic Hugo Race Quick bite: A heads up that Hugo Race has a date locked in at The Bridge, Castlemaine on September 21. The Australian run of shows comes after an extensive European tour with his Italian-based ‘Fatalists’ project and will shine a light on Hugo’s latest release, We Never Had Control. The album is the culmination of four decades in the game, with some of his notable outings being Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and The Wreckery. Special guests on tour will be Italian instrumental outfit and “romantic villains’, Sacri Cuori. .........................................................................

The Perfect Balance of Neon and Venom Quick bite: Steve Lucas is a familiar name within the music scene, and a highly-regarded one at that. For over 35 years his main gig has been X, and now we’ll see just how much juice new project Neon and Venom has in them. The band also features DollSquad’s Joey Bedlam. In an interview with Beat, Lucas said: “She is Neon she glows in the dark and is radiant. I am the dark onto which she sheds the light.” The four-piece tread the garage/punk/psych path with a good dose of rock and roll thrown in for good measure. The Newmarket, Bendigo – August 9. .........................................................................

Kaisha Reaches the End Quick bite: Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Kaisha draws on her Armenian-Australian background to create music which merges rhythmic middle-eastern rock with lyrical sensitivity. Last year she released The End of the Divide: Chapter 2, an EP she self-produced, engineered and mixed. She has been performing a few shows around the traps in support of the release and according to her website she has plans to return to the studio this year for a follow-up. Babushka, Ballarat – August 3. .........................................................................

Quick bite: Hollywood. It’s a place where dreams are made and crushed, sometimes in a single day. It’s a place for the so-called beautiful people. And it’s also a place whose name has been borrowed by three-piece, Max Goes to Hollywood. This little trio is all hoppedup on party-lovin’ pop-punk. They love beer, girls and good times, god bless their little hearts. The lads have been busy touring and understandably, given their loves, have been having a jolly good time doing so. Check out their debut EP How to Drop Knowledge, or check ‘em out at The Loft, Warrnambool on July 27.

The Karova Reminders Quick bite: Lovers of the heavy stuff will want to be at The Karova tonight, July 25, with Tasmania’s best Psycroptic and King Parrot set to hit the stage. Kerser checks into the venue on July 26 along with brother and partner in crime, Rates. Garage rockers APES snuggle up on stage on August 2. The band has been getting some serious love from the UK of late, and their debut EP Helluva is impressing. Alison Wonderland was a touring cellist in another life, but now she is a red-hot

Queenscliff Music Festival Time flies when you’re having a fun festival. In 2013 the Queenscliff Music Festival celebrates its 17th birthday, and just who have they invited to the party? For starters, The Living End (pictured), John Butler Trio, Spiderbait and The Grates, that’s who. You also have Blue King Brown, Saskwatch, The Screaming Jets, Busby Marou, Thelma Plum, Melbourne Ska Orchestra Band, Chance Waters, The Basics, Underground Lovers, Russell Morris, Northeast Party House, Darren Percival, Eagle and the Worm, Jeff Lang, The Preatures, Jasmine Rae and The Frowning Clouds. There are plenty more guests as well, but a party wouldn’t be a party without you. Yes, you! Of course, all the usual added festival goodies will be present as well. Queenscliff – November 22 through November 24. Wanna know more? Then check out qmf.net.au.

party DJ who is rising to the top of her field. She hits the stage on August 3. And guitar/drum rock duo King of the North hit the venue on August 8. .........................................................................

Not the End for Baby Animals 20 years is a long, long time in between albums – hell, even Guns N’ Roses didn’t take that long. But when Baby Animals released their third album This Is Not The End earlier in the year, the drought was finally broken. The band had a solid run in their heyday, touring with names including Van Halen, The Black Crowes, Robert Plant and Bryan Adams before going their separate ways in 1996. The band reunited for a brief stint in 2008 but members didn’t quite gel the way they used to. Hiccups aside, frontwoman Suze DeMarchi is clearly buzzing about the new incarnation: “I’m really proud of this album. I love every track and I can’t wait to perform these songs on tour. I love playing live; gigs really are the pay off. We want to go wherever this record takes us ... We feel more driven than we were when we were younger. We decided to buck the system with this record and put it out independently. The music business is so stale right now; we wanted to do it differently. We’ve been able to really reconnect with our fans on social media.” The band will hit the touring road again a little later in the year, this time recording footage along the way to be made into their firstever live DVD. Cool stuff. The Wool Exchange, Geelong – October 30.

A Loss for Words Reminder Quick bite: Don’t forget good readers that Boston outfit A Loss for Words hit Geelong’s Barwon Club on July 31 as part of their Australian tour. The band released their latest album, No Sanctuary, in 2011, but returned to the studio at the beginning of the year to begin work on a new release. It’s their debut tour so make them feel welcome. Lending support will be Take Your Own, Japan For, The Monuments and SIDELINeS.

his creative talents which didn’t fit the mould of his other bands, Kids These Days and Second Narrows. These days Havdale tours the Canadian outfit with different collaborators and guests. Last year saw the release of Damaged Goods, the fourth album by the band. Called their wildest recording to date, the album is their 30minute take on punk. The Loft, Warrnambool – July 27.

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Best of the Rest

The Mohawk Lodge Reminder Quick bite: Ryder Havdale began The Mohawk Lodge as a side-project in the early 2000s as a way to channel

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Geelong: Psycroptic – The Barwon Club, July 26; Imogen Brought – Wool Exchange, July 26, DJ Sever – Opium Bar, August 3.

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of a book of chords before he left his family home in Bowen, Queensland as a teenager. The problems he faced back then can be heard in tracks such as ‘Departure’, which is about feeling compelled to pack up and go interstate.

I talk about the percussion side of things because I am wanting to break away a little from the cruisey side of just the guitar and vocals that was my first release last December (The Darling EP) and hopefully break onto the airwaves with more upbeat radio designed songs – some of them aren’t even about love and girls which for me is a very odd thing. I started writing as early as the age of 5 or 6, but that was just lyrics and basically they were horrible songs; Can you please introduce yourself some only went for 12 seconds to to Forte’s readers and give us a a minute, but when I feel I started background as to who you are? writing worthwhile music is probably Sure can. I’ve been living in Geelong around year 9, so 13-14 years old. all my life. I am just a normal kid I still play some of the songs that who really loves his music. I’m 17 are still relevant today, but most and studying at Oxygen College and got thrown away because I get to a VCE at a local public school. There stage in writing where I think, ‘what isn’t really any great back-story to was I thinking?’ as I’m listening to who I am. the paper tear in my hands. You reside in Geelong, is that Do you have a release out? Are correct? Tell us how you find you working on a release? Do you living in Geelong as an artist? have ambitions to get something Living here as an artist is funny. out? I’m at that stage in my life Obviously our music scene is not where releasing a vinyl record would that of Melbourne’s, but I think I be amazing, but luckily I have an speak for all artists around town that alright head on my shoulders to there are still some great venues know it would be a financial disaster; around the place; sometimes with no-one even buys CDs anymore let a decent crowd, but not always. alone vinyls – apart from those solid Whenever you play to any more than lovers of music and enthusiasts like 25 people who listen to what you say myself. and play I call it a win. We are working very hard on Tell us about your history. When music at the moment, and I say and how did you first pick up the we because I work with a label in guitar and start singing? My dad Melbourne every Monday and I’m used to be on the committee for currently working on demo tracks. the Port Fairy Folk Festival and I It’s all meant to be a little on the always remember the Labour Day down low, but you might be in for a weekend in March as being one little surprise in the next few months of my favorites of the year. I would as far as releasing new music goes. busk doing human pyramids and playing a little blue Honor Harmonica You have built up a good little my parents bought me while wearing following locally, and you always the funky hats they also had me have good support at your gigs. wearing. It was always a time when I Do you have bigger plans for could be myself and have an almost yourself as a solo artist? My hippie-like free spirit which I still love following and fan base consists to think I have somewhere deep mostly of family and friends and down. I think that is where my love friends of those friends and family; of music and mostly folky/acoustic everyone is so lovely and I cherish music comes from. them all. They give me the ability to continue making music mentally My godfather came around one and bother putting the time in. Lately day with a guitar he bought for me. I’ve been told of people mentioning Before that I had no idea I would my name in pubs and sushi shops, ever pick up an instrument, so I feel and generally my name being talked a massive thanks to him in what has about which is amazing. It’s more become a massive part in my life. than I ever imagined in such a short But it all really started around year time in the industry. 9 when I realised girls didn’t like me as much as I wanted them to. People are so warm and friendly I wasn’t overly attractive, but I am talking to me, and the look on their a deep sappy romantic with some face after a show reminds me of me sort of vocals who has always had a talking to some of my favorite artists passion for songwriting. So logically I have met. It’s just so rewarding, I decided to start writing love songs and I feel obliged to keep doing about all the girls who would never what I’m doing for them as much want to be with me, and people as I do love it. Of course I do have liked the music too so that was just bigger plans than just Geelong. I a bonus. am spanning into Melbourne and hopefully organising a few shows For those who have seen or heard in New York at the end of the year you, you do solo stuff and it’s instead of schoolies. I understand very cruisey. When did you start that no-one will hand-feed success making originals? Yes, I am mainly to me, but the harder I work the a soloist. I am starting to branch out more opportunities will be presented to a different and bigger sound so I to me to be successful. use a mate of mine, Nick, who plays percussion on occasions. So in the How much work each week goes future you will more than likely see into you music, and what would him with me; he is a little bit of a you say takes up the most time? cutie so hopefully girls will fall in love To be quite honest I don’t really with him too. practice. I never have been much

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of a person who practises anything, to my own disappointment, but I still work hard at promotion of shows, writing and re-writing music. My main source of practice is probably listening to my songs to drill them in my head so that I don’t make mistakes on stage, because it may sound weird, but I try my best not to think on stage and just play. And I only really do that with the new songs because I don’t know the words, and I am horrible with remembering lyrics. You recently performed at the CQ Unplugged series and got through to the finals. How was that experience? That whole experience was awesome and I must admit I am tempted to reapply for the winter series, but I only will if they don’t have enough people as I feel it necessary for others to experience it as well because it is a great boost of publicity around Geelong and just great to know you have another gig coming up. The final itself was so nerve-racking, which I’m usually so relaxed as anyone who really knows me will tell you. I don’t think I’ve ever played in front of as many people that I care what they think of me, and also it was a competition so it wasn’t a normal gig. There were judges and people who really mean a lot in the industry. I had some technical difficulties and truthfully, I’m surprised I held it all together that night. I am so thankful of everyone who cared enough to come out that night and the ones that actually stayed around to vote too because I was on first and voting was at the end. Congratulations to everyone else who performed that night too, especially Tane who was the winner. I was actually listening to his CD this morning as a matter of fact. What are some of your favourite places to perform in and around Geelong? I loved playing at CQ. It’s a great place for shows, along with other local places like Wine Justice and Bar Pizza. I’ve always wanted to play at Beav’s Bar because it is also just an awesome place to see live music alive and well, but I haven’t got that opportunity yet. What is next for Olly Friend? Well sadly I’ve got to get VCE out of the way so I will always have that there as a backup. Other than that I would love to tour as someone’s support act around Australia. That would be awesome. But other than that, be aware of new music coming out in the not too distant future. All details for shows and new things happening like new tunes checkout Olly Friend on Facebook. It is basically the only place you will find any information about things I do. We just released a poster for shows in July. We have one down in Barwon Heads and another one in Melbourne, and a few others around the place. Would love to meet some new faces as always, so pop down if you’re keen. Olly plays the Barwon Heads Hotel on July 26. Pay him a visit there or through facebook.com/OllyFriend.

“Tool isn’t one of my favourite bands. They are my favourite band,” he says. “In terms of (my) creative approach”, he adds, “I do respect how Adam Jones does what he does. Given their resources, I wouldn’t attempt to emulate or even pay homage to them as it would cheapen that and everything I tried to do from that point onward.”

Jimi Norrstrom by darlene taylor

Given his musical heroes and the emotional complexity of the subjects he chooses to explore, it’s fitting the 24-year-old takes what he regards as a “non-binary” attitude to writing. “This is a byproduct”, he says, “of the music that I find influential. It’s half-purposeful and half a result of improvisational tinkering that seems to meet somewhere in the middle. Besides, we’ve all seen Bender mess with binary and look how that ended up. I think using certain dynamics in the musical aspect of my songs helps to push a certain lyrical thought or idea forward, or at least point to one point in a more prominent fashion than others.”

Dressed in a black hoodie and neglecting to talk between songs, Jimi Norrstrom seemed kind of ghostly and shy. When he departed the stage it was without any concessions to the usual customs of live performance such as thanking the audience for being there. While in the act of leaving a venue after his set one Thursday night, I overheard another attendee pronounce to Norrstrom, although perhaps in jest, that he was scaring people off. For the solo artist, who has some regrets about no longer being a member of the progressive rock band Fields of Reign, the persona he presents lets him perform in a way he otherwise wouldn’t be able to. “The black jacket”, he says, “is one of many devices I use to hide behind so I can put forth the particular song in a reasonable and ... professional manner. The truth is that being on stage has become incredibly uncomfortable for me, and if I can find a way to make things mentally easier for myself I will employ it.”

Although the picture presented here of Norrstrom might suggest he’s overly serious, he’s an avowed fan of The Simpsons and Galaxy Quest. He and a friend have also recently started broadcasting a movie review show on SoundCloud called The Debrief which is anything but dour. When it comes to pursuing a career in music, he lacks the solemnity of some of his contemporaries. With a focus on other aspects of life such as family it’s not clear how long he’ll continue to play live or compose new material.

Norrstrom, who lives in Bendigo, had already started to teach himself to play guitar with the help

What’s On in The Rat: July 25 Onwards By Daniel Lock

Thursday, July 25 the Babushka Lounge/ Café hosts the melodies of Siren Song on a special occasion. The Babushka Lounge/Café is currently also displaying the songstress’ artwork across its walls, so if you’re looking for a relaxing night and wanting to indulge both sound and sight, this gig could be for you.

stage following the cancellation and rescheduling of his show that was booked at Karova a little while ago (damn cold and flu season gets everyone). Supported by Rates, tickets cost $20 and are available from New Generation Clothing and The Regent Cinema. Saturday, July 27 has Daniel Champagne returning to the Babushka Lounge/Café for an encore from his earlier visit this year.

That same night and at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the Karova Lounge will be slapped with a big wet METAL fish. They play host to PSYCROPTIC supported by KING PARROT (METAL bands demand use of capital letters, it’s in a clause ... somewhere) in what will most likely be a night of mischief, METAL and mayhem. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased from New Generation Clothing and The Regent Cinema.

Details on the above gigs can be found via the venue’s websites: The Babushka Lounge/Café/Gallery: evileye.com. au/babushkalounge.com The Karova Lounge: karovalounge.com Many of the local artists’ music can be previewed by means of a search of the UBlive YouTube channel: youtube.com/channel/ UChdeTuas6usecPVqn84-_LQ

Friday, July 26 has Matt Mavis and Caroline Kennedy playing at the Babushka Lounge/Café. At the Karova Lounge, Kerser is set to take the

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Ah, girls. Nothing messes with the head quite like the fairer sex, or inspires one to pick up the guitar quite as often. And so it is we meet Geelong-bred singer-songwriter and guitarist Olly Friend. When his old man used to be on the committee for the Port Fairy Folk Festival, Olly would use the opportunity to busk at the festival. Now, at the age of 17, a big, bright music world awaits. It’s time for a chat…

Olly Friend

you asked for it, we go it!

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The self-proclaimed progressive acoustic musician, however, isn’t really one for explaining the meaning of his lyrics. As an artist who doesn’t miss a chance to mention the group Tool, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Norrstrom’s tunes can be as dark as his hoodie. Of course, Tool’s known for offering lyrically wrenching, not to mention powerfully creative, takes on topics such as child abuse.

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SARAH BLASKO By Natalie Rogers

I’m proud to say that we share a birthday and gender, but as far as natural talent, grace and style go, Sarah Blasko is in a class of her own. The ARIA award-winning songstress is back home after spending time abroad – and she’ll soon be appearing on a stage near you! “It’s really exciting and I feel very privileged, actually, to be able to embark on a tour that’s outside of the cities,” Sarah gushed when she checked in with Forte recently. “Because of the venues we’ll be playing, there’ll be an element of theatricality, but it’ll be a stripped down version of what I did earlier in the year.” Sarah is referring to her hugely successful run of performances that saw her latest release, I Awake, accompanied by a different orchestra at every show. She took this tour around Australia before heading back to Europe. “It’s a nice thing to get back to just the five of us playing the songs, which is how they began. Before we recorded I Awake, I spent a lot of time demoing these songs with my band, and that was long before the orchestral element was added. I feel that they’re very strong at their core anyway, so to go back to that is really enjoyable. And with just the five of us, there’s a bit more room for improvisation – there’s a rawness to what we’re playing that we all love. We enjoy just being able to feed off each other in that more intimate way.” Happy to be playing with her longtime band once again, Sarah is also thrilled to be sharing the bill with her band mate Ben Fletcher. “Ben has been playing guitar with me for years as part of my band, but he’ll also be my support on this tour. He put out a great album this year and his music is really beautiful. He’s lovely. He’s a great guy and he is one of my best friends actually. We always

have fun together. Ben and I have this joke that we should make a club for funny people who make sad music! I can be an intense person, but to people who know me I can also be extremely silly!” Sarah joked. “I’ve also got my drummer coming from Sweden to play with us, which is great because he’s been part of the last two albums, and this tour will be a combination of songs from all my records.”

I Awake is Sarah’s fourth studio album and her most ambitious undertaking to date. “I chose to produce this record myself. It was incredibly challenging at times. I’m not someone who can do things by halves – it’s all or nothing with me. I have to be passionate about something and for me that’s making music. I’ve never felt that way about anything else in my life. Nothing else makes sense.” Sarah was drawn to music from an early age. While still in high school she formed a jazz blues group with her older sister Kate, and in her early twenties fronted the now defunct Sydney band Acquiesce. “When I think back to when I was growing up, women who inspired me at that time were all musicians or performers,” Kate remembered. “Strong women like Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, Bjork and Grace Jones – she’s always been a very interesting performer. “On stage and in my music I can express things that I couldn’t in real life – that’s why I need it [music] to a certain degree. I did contemplate other careers paths. I went to university and did a Bachelor of Arts degree. I thought I’d be a teacher or a journalist, but my heart just wasn’t in it. My mum would always say maybe I should do something to help people like she did – she was a nurse and my dad was a teacher. But I’ve just never been as passionate about anything as I am about music. “There’s an element of truth and honesty that comes with making music, and I love that. I enjoy every part of playing live. I don’t really like to do a standard music show. I try to do something really special!”

When&Where: Eastbank Centre, Shepparton – July 30; The Capital, Bendigo – July 31; WCPA, Ballarat – August 1; Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool – August 2

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down to business:

The

Sphinx Hotel By Dani Shaw

George Ramia was born at Geelong’s Baxter House in 1957 to parents Ray and Elaine and has called the city home ever since. His name is synonymous with success and some of the most iconic establishments in the region, including North Geelong’s landmark, The Sphinx. In 1947, at just 21 years of age, George’s father, Ray Ramia, arrived in Geelong from Lebanon and started his own family; one that has played a significant role in shaping the entertainment and hospitality industries of the region. In 1969, Ray Ramia owned a successful tailoring shop in Geelong. After recognising the threat posed by the availability of cheaper, Asian-imported suits, Ray embarked on a different venture and began to build The Golf View Hotel. The hotel was completed in 1971.It was when the hotel’s namesake – the adjacent golf course – closed in 1997 that refurbishments began and The Golf View became the infamous Sphinx Hotel. A 15-metre high replica of Egypt’s renowned 4,500-year-old Sphinx was built and the complex was renamed the Sphinx Entertainment Centre of Geelong. Forty-two years later and The Sphinx is still owned and operated by the Ramia family, which George believes is one of the reasons behind its success – another being the constant redevelopment of the complex. “There’s been a lot of changes over the years, and continue to be. I think that’s why we’re still successful,” says George. Following his father’s foray into hospitality ownership and operation was the first step in what’s become an illustrious career for George. Undertaking a three-

year business course at Gordon Technical College allowed him a deeper insight into management and the cutthroat realities of entrepreneurship. He’s since owned several establishments including The National Hotel, Fishermen’s Pier, The Vault Restaurant, The Dandenong Hotel, Blue Martini and Homehouse, which he opened with Darryn Lions in 2002. The Sphinx Hotel, however, has remained a constant in George and the Ramia family’s portfolio and currently provides a 400-seat conference centre, sports bar, the popular Pharaohs Bistro, Thirsty

Camel bottle shop, and the Cazbar Night Club which is open every Friday and Saturday night and licensed until 3am. Budget accommodation is offered, with 16 motel rooms and another 20 planned for completion next year, all of which will overlook the golf course currently under construction. The Sphinx remains one of Geelong’s premium entertainment venues, hosting Mark Seymour from Hunters and Collectors on Saturday the 17th of August, Geelong’s own Michael Stangel of The Voice 2013 fame, and Australia’s 2011 X-Factor runner-up Andrew Wishart in October.

In addition to overseeing the expansion of The Sphinx, George is currently busy planning the renovation and redevelopment of The National Hotel. “There’ll be entertainment, but predominantly good food and beverage. It’ll be a very boutiquey type venue with a rooftop garden and a nice restaurant upstairs as well as function rooms and a cafe/bar,” says George. The Sphinx Hotel is located in North Geelong, off the Midland Highway at 2 Thompsons Road. 5242 5298. Further reading: sphinxhotel.com.au.

food story: Chargrilled Chicken breast with grilled marinated vegetables, goats cheese on zeally bay organic bread, drizzled with a caramelized balsamic glaze.

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two sugars By Dani Shaw

In the bustling Highton shopping precinct - a mecca of all day breakfasts, boutique gift stores and quality produce - is cafe and Pizza bar Two Sugars. The licenced corner cafe recently expanded its al fresco dining, taking full advantage of its north facing, sunny front. This was part of extensive renovations last year that created a rustic and distinguishably Italian cafe, reminiscent of Europe’s famous cafe culture. Valoriani Verace - a renowned brand, synonymous with consistency and quality - built a wood fired pizza oven on the premises and Two Sugars matured into an innovative and welcoming Geelong establishment. Italian wines have been carefully selected in consideration with the menu and are now complemented by a wide variety of local and international beers. Quality Italian ingredients such as Parmigano reggiano and Soppressa salami are abundant throughout the menu; one which offers a unique forty-eight dollar option to chose any two pizzas that are

then made on the same base and served as a half-metre sharing pizza. Modern and authentic siblings of the common favourites are found in the pasta menu where a classic carbonara is recreated with the addition of pork and fennel sausage and fresh seafood is accompanied by tagliatelle rather than the standard spaghetti. A ‘Bambini’ menu offers options for kids under 12 and a vast range of milkshakes, thickshakes, soft drinks, and Santo Vittoria Italian soda’s are also available. Management are quick to attribute an amount of Two Sugars success to its staff; consummately professional and experienced, Two Sugars wait staff follow the philosophy of the successful Italian eatery, to provide a warm and welcoming environment, ensuring enjoyable and memorable meals for all patrons. Without neglecting modern Australian cuisine, Two Sugars management have brought the aromas, textures and flavours of Italy to Highton by drawing on a wealth of experience cultured locally and internationally. Two Sugars is open from 7am until 5pm Monday, and 7am until late Tuesday to Sunday. The venue can be hired for functions and more information can be found at www.twosugarscafe.com

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Alister Turrill

by Brendan Dando

thankful to the Queenscliff Music Festival for making the entire recording project possible.” Fast-forward to the album launch at Beav’s Bar on May 31st, Turrill was not only fortunate enough to have fellow musicians and best mates Murdena and Famous Will as support acts, but also managed to sell out the gig. “The feeling was incomparable! I’d worked so hard to put the album together, and I wanted to start things off with a bang!” he describes with a well-deserved sense of pride. “I personally sold lots of pre-sale tickets, as did the support acts and Spinning Half. I was so nervous before the show, but as soon as I found out that it had sold out I was absolutely pumped and ready to give it everything I had ... but still pretty damn nervous!”

It isn’t very often that the word ‘humble’ is the best way to describe a musician. However, anyone who has had the privilege to meet Alister Turrill will know he certainly is an exception to the rule. With an unmistakable cheeky grin that can only be hidden by his trademark curly hair, combined with a true love for his music, Turrill has quickly become one of the Geelong music scene’s most popular personalities. It’s hard to find a weekend Alister isn’t playing gig around town – although the musician lifestyle hasn’t always been the lifelong dream. “I didn’t start playing guitar until I was 14, but began to play live when I was 18 at local Open Mic nights”, he reveals. “However, my love of music began at a very young age through my mum and dad’s record and CD collections.” Since then, the past three years have seen Turrill accomplish more than what most local musicians have in their careers. With several nominations at the 2013 Vic/Tas Blues Music Awards including Male Artist and Song of the Year, along with already winning an array of awards and accolades, Turrill somehow manages to remain modest when listing them all. “I’ve been lucky enough to win a few since I started playing, such as Melbourne ‘Youth in Blues’ (2011), Apollo Bay Music Festival ‘Next wave’ (2012) and the Queenscliff Music Festival ‘Perpetual scholarship’ (2012).” It was with this scholarship that Turrill was able to record his debut album, Reverence and Resonance, in February. What made the recording process even more special for Turrill was having his musical hero Lloyd Spiegel on board to produce it. “His contribution was absolutely vital to the finished product, and I’m so grateful for his belief in me as well as the album I’d written,” he explains. “I’m also extremely

With the astounding turnout it was clear Alister has become a fan favourite in Geelong, but who are his favourites? “Murdena, Famous Will, Jamie Pye, Izzy Losi, RDZJB, Two Coloured Koi, The Kite Machine … there’s too many because our scene is so diverse and full of artists with incredible talent!” So it’s clear 2013 has been nothing but a success for Turrill. However, he ensures that there is still plenty left to accomplish. “The rest of this year will be devoted to shows and festivals all around Victoria on the back of my debut album, many of them with fellow Geelong folk singer-songwriter Henschke as the support. There’s still loads more to announce, so keep your eyes peeled on my Facebook!” – ‘LIKE’ Alister Turrill – facebook. com/alisterturrill – Debut Album Reverence and Resonance available now

FREE CLASSIFIEDS 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.

Screaming Vocalist wanted for metalcore band. Vocalist required between the ages of about 17 - 19. Live experience not necessary. Influences include Parkway Drive and August Burns Red. Email andyw14@live.com.au

Phil 0421 901 530 www. zeffamusic.com

Vocalist Wanted. Experienced 25 y.o. guitarist looking for female vocalist to form acoustic duo to start playing cover gigs asap. Would also be interested Wanted: Bass Player in writing together music & Drummer. I’m a if partnership works well. Singer/Songwriter, who has Phone Curt 0412 166 393 written/produced an album Looking for a rock of original songs, looking singer between to gig originals & covers. the age 17-19. Main Influences include U2, Influences are Green INXS, Oasis, The Verve, Day, Foo Fighters and Snow Patrol. Looking for easy going/reliable muso’s Led Zeppelin. Band who know their craft. Call with Management and

Label. Email and info at melodicmusic.com Looking for a drummer, not afraid to experiment. Male/ female. Age 35++ ono. All original. English/ Australian influences without the radio play. Original to the extent of punk/pop sensibility 1978 to the not-sonow style. Think of yourself as a patron of The Saints, Stiff Little Fingers, Radio Birdman, Buzzcocks, The Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, Iggy & The Stooges, Wedding Present, Happy Mondays etc etc, then forget you have to be. The usual...car, equipment, attitude, mental state (in an OK kind of...) punctual, earplugs accepted. Be prepared to apply yourself. Let us know on 0409 567 043. Please leave your details and we will hear you - Confirmation code: AKA 1963 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.

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 16-19 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 Experienced Lead Guitarist Wanted. Top Phone 0352757689, Email linnums@ 40 Coverband. 70s 80s optusnet.com.au 90s and current. Based in Geelong. Must have commitment. Please Call Vocalist Wanted: Rock/alternative band, Mark on 0438836469 currently consisting of or email at pudge_ guitar, bass, drums. gypsy33@hotmail.com In search of a clean vocalist preferably with Singer wanted for acoustic covers duo. experience. Influences: Tool, A Perfect Circle, Must like 90’s British bands and not into songs Karnivool, 12 stones, Godsmack, etc. Contact your “normal” covers bands play. Think Oasis, Dean 0431067758

Geelong FReeZA presents…

Push Start BATTLE OF THE BANDS! The FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands competition showcases young musicians from around Victoria, giving them the opportunity to perform, gain local exposure and win their way to a spot on the Push Over festival line-up! What is the major prize for winning the Grand Final at Push Over 2014? • A day of engineering, producing, recording and mixing from Hothouse Studios. • J ack The Bear Deluxe Mastering session. • M ulti-camera studio film clip filmed, produced and edited by JMC Academy. • P ressing of 500 copies of your recording and a graphic design layout session by DEX Audio. • $ 1000 poster/flyer printing campaign from Shout Out Loud Print. • K it of ‘band supplies’ including a Mapex snare drum, Vater drum sticks, Elixir guitar and bass strings, Samson vocal mic, DI and headphones and Hercules mic and guitar stands from Electric Factory. • T -shirt run of 50x 1 colour print (valued at $500) from Love Police.

• M erchandise hosting from Fist2Face in physical and online stores. • $ 1000 package of “Hard Rocker” bean bags from King Kahuna. • $ 1000 Plakkit poster campaign. • D igital distribution campaign by Valleyarm. • A rtist Feature on The Push website.

• A rtist interview/feature article in Beat Magazine. Please note: All bands are to be emerging (not signed) with a min of 50% of the band being under 21. Rego forms can be downloaded at courthouse.org. au. Email the completed form to youtharts@courthouse.org. au by July 30! The Event will be held on Aug 8 from 6pm at Courthouse ARTS.

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Victoriana Gaye By Tex Miller

Jeff Raglus once met Kurt Cobain. What’s that got to do with his current work with Victoriana Gaye? Well, absolutely nothing, but it’s a cool intro to this story. “I was getting into a lift in Kings Cross and saw it was Kurt. I said hi, but he was so out of it he didn’t respond.” Renowned for his work as a graphic designer with Mambo throughout the 90s, Jeff is currently playing with his wife Vicki in Victoriana Gaye. After a long stint away writing, the band is finally back with their second full-length album, Holy Roll. It’s been two years in the making, but finally it is here. “We’re only as slow as anybody else I know, I think,” Jeff says talking about the recording process. “Comparable to other bands we would be about the same. It was one year of writing, and that was half done on the road and half at home in Aireys Inlet. The recording process took quite a while, but that was due to gigging every weekend and tweaking the songs to be the best they could,” Jeff said.

of CDs and press releases have been sent out to magazines and radio stations all around the country. Although it is a little hard at first, it is the only way to succeed as a musician in the industry today, as Jeff relates. “I have been in both facets of bands and had road crew and managers, but we never made any money because it was such an expensive thing to keep rolling. This way, we make a modest living out of it and keep creative control over all aspects of our music. It’s a more realistic approach to music. I think looking back at my career, success is very fleeting, and I haven’t had a normal job since 1986 when I joined the Black Sorrows. But it comes and it goes.” Holy Roll features 60s-style guitar and horn lines, whilst still maintaining a fresh, innovative and modern sound that can be attributed to Bruce Haymes. Having worked with Bruce across many years, the main reason behind using him is his appreciation for modern music.

Teaming up with a stellar cast of musicians as well as renowned musician Bruce Haymes (Paul Kelly, The Waifs, Colin Hay, Jeff Lang), the album has a real touring band and open road vibe to it throughout the twelve tracks. Opening track ‘Wild White Wine’ is a prime example of this and was written in a Queensland bed and breakfast during a northern Australian tour.

“He is not one of those guys that just sits there and talks about the past, and I am not either. His open mind allowed for us to try some pretty kooky things and [he] has a strong belief to not polish an album to absolute perfection. Cheap and quick production lends a massive hand in allowing for this record to sound real, lo-fi and not be over-produced,” Jeff said.

Having spent the best part of three years on the road, Jeff believes that in 2013 the most integral part about being a musician lies within self-management and promotion. At the time of this interview, hundreds

The band is launching Holy Roll in Bellbrae and the Empress on the 3rd and 4th of August respectively, and with support from Ashley Naylor of Even fame, this is one not to miss!

When&Where: Bellbrae Hall, Bellbrae – August 3 &The Empress Hotel, Melbourne – August 4

Dallas Frasca By Cameron Brogden

Currently touring in Europe, where she has been dubbed the “new AC/DC”, Dallas Frasca is back on Australian shores in October when she’ll be performing at the Anglesea Music Festival. I caught up with Dallas this week to ask how it’s all going. “We are currently in the middle of a one month tour of Europe, followed by three weeks of shows in the UK. As part of the European leg we were invited to play with the legendary Patti Smith on Corsica Island, also Earth, Wind and Fire at Le Mans this year with record crowds of 250,000. That festival was pretty crazy!” she said. That’s not all she’s got going on; she’s also got an album out called Sound Painter. “It was recorded completely live in Brooklyn, New York with the incredible producer Andy Baldwin with no click tracks and little to no overdubs through 60s vintage amps, guitars and drums. It was a real love affair, and truly magical six days as a band. We all felt we achieved something big by the time we’d finished laying the last track,” she said.

on Twitter. We are all massive fans of Slash so you can imagine we are still buzzing over the whole thing.” And when I asked her whether she and her band were looking forward to Anglesea, she had this to say: “[We’re] big time excited. We give 100% at every gig! We enjoy the freedom of being able to play the music we write all around the world in many different venues and festivals. We love our instruments, so any chance we get to play in front of 10- to 100- to 1,000- to 100,000- people we will rock the same show as hard as we can. We just appreciate anyone who will listen. “We definitely love small earthy festivals as you get the chance to interact a lot closer with audiences with no fences or barriers,” she added. “People are also enthusiastic, appreciative and excited to have art in their home town when it doesn’t happen very often. We can share art through human interaction. As musicians and artists we are the platform for that sharing and connecting. This love we bring to all communities, big and small. We will be bringing a stadium-sized rock riff show to town with no limits. Join in and let’s party the arse off, Anglesea!”

And the album has received some pretty good feedback, but one fan caught Dallas’ attention over the others. “We had the fortune of getting to hang out with Slash for a day when we were invited by Bob Irwin to help launch his new wildlife sanctuary in Brisbane last year. We got to talking about our recording processes and both had very similar thoughts. I flung him a copy of Sound Painter as we were all leaving and within the hour he tweeted his thoughts on the record to me

Don’t miss Anglesea Music Festival this October where you won’t only see Dallas Frasca, but headliners Brian Cadd and Russell Morris, as well as Sandi Thom.

Imogen Brough

nailing the songs was fantastic. I am really grateful for all of the time and hard work that they put in to make it happen,” Imogen said.

By Tex Miller

Over the past few years, Imogen Brough has become a staple of the local music scene, playing gigs all over town. Having appeared on the recent season of The Voice, Imogen has extended her fan base nationwide and is set to tour around the country in September in support of her latest release, Counting Waves. Ahead of her gig at the Wool Exchange on the 26th, I recently caught up with Imogen. Talking about the Geelong scene, Imogen speaks positively about opportunities that are around. “I think that although the Geelong scene is quite small, there are a lot of openings to get a break as a musician. Open Mic nights are fantastic, and being so close to Melbourne and the Surf Coast the opportunities for exposure and to get out of your bedroom and play are endless. It’s been a fantastic starting point to launch my career.” Officially launched in August last year, Counting Waves is a four-track original EP that draws heavily on Celtic and modern influences to her music, including the likes of Florence and the Machine and Coldplay; the recording process of which, although quick, allowed for the songs naturally in a no pressure environment. “It was definitely a learning experience heading into the studio. I hadn’t done that before and so I was lucky enough to get some help from some sound engineering students at university, and it took a couple of weeks to piece it all together. We were all on mid-semester breaks and so to spend a couple of days in the studio

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When&Where: Anglesea Music Festival, October 18-20. Hit angleseamusicfestival. com.au for INFO.

In 2003 Australian Idol was the pioneer of discovering new musical talent. Since then, there have been a lot of musicians that have come and gone from the industry as other offshoot productions run their course; for example X Factor and Australia’s Got Talent and, most recently, The Voice. As a result, there has been a lot of speculation in the media about whether these talent quest shows nurture or inhibit a musical career. “If you approach the show in a negative way and think that people are out to get you, then it will affect your career and image. I had a really positive experience on the show and loved every minute of it. It’s broadened my horizons to the music world greatly, and I have thousands of fans following what I am doing and loving the music that I am writing. That would have taken a few more years to develop, but given the instant power TV has, the exposure I got was great. The experience is definitely what you make of it,” Imogen said. In September Imogen is hitting the road with Brian Kennedy. As one of Ireland’s most loved and successful ambassadors of music and the host of The Voice of Ireland, this tour sees Brian and Imogen head to regional centres all around the country – and Imogen could not be more excited given her musical roots. “I can only imagine that Brian has some amazing musical contacts and he understands where I have come from musically, given his history with the TV show. From my knowledge, he’s worked with Van Morrison, Clannad and some other big names. It will be great to learn from someone so experienced.” Constantly writing new material, a follow-up to Counting Waves is not too far around the corner with a summer 2013 release – so be on the lookout!

When&Where: The Wool Exchange, Geelong – July 26 & ungplugged best of the best show @ city quarter, geelong - july 28

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As A Rival By Cameron Brogden

While not a household name yet, As A Rival are an up-and-coming punk rock trio from Melbourne. I caught up with frontman Pete Cerni to discuss the band’s new EP, Concerning Trends, and their upcoming tour. “I had a stack of demos I recorded with a friend,” Pete said of the band’s origins. “Jayde [bassist] and I had played together previously in other projects, so when I showed her the demos it was on like Donkey Kong. I could say it was like the start of the Mighty Ducks 2 … but that would be a lie.” This being the band’s second EP, they’ve learnt a thing or two to help them out. “We were definitely focused with the direction of the recording, having done pre-production on the songs making sure they were 100%,” Pete explained. “We wanted the EP to be explosive from the get-go and leave the listener wanting more. There are a lot of layers, so things that listeners won’t hear the first will pick up on later. We also wanted to capture the live aspect of the band and we achieved that. This EP is but a precursor to a live show.” And just what can we expect from their live show? Pete had just three words: “Tight. Loud. Catchy.” That wasn’t enough for me, so I decided to take a different approach, asking for the band’s stylistic influences and inspirations. Pete had much more to say on the subject.

“Early Foo Fighters – that whole rock/punk vibe with catchy melody; Queens of the Stone Age for the riff and swagger and Biffy Clyro for their ability to write a punk rock classic and turn it on its head,” he said. “Things that are revving my engines at the moment are time changes and staying away from the regular verse-chorus-verse progressions.” Pete then went on to explain the writing process. “When I’m writing I tend to do it away from the guitar; out and about with an idea or a drum part and I’ll just start playing around with it in my head. Only when the idea is strong enough do I even bother picking up the guitar. The idea behind the writing is that I write music that I want to listen to.” These guys are going to go far – they’ve already got the rest of the year planned out, career-wise. “Things have been very positive between the success of the clip for ‘Warm Gun’ and positive reviews from triple j. Next is to release an album, more national touring with some major support, as well as some international touring next year. We want to extend our fan base, basically get our name out to as many people as possible. It all starts here and the sky is the limit.” Right now they’ve got a video for their single ‘Warm Gun’ on YouTube, the new EP Concerning Trends and their national tour – so go check one out, or preferably all of them.

When&Where: The Bridge, Castlemaine – July 25; Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – August 9; The Barwon Club, Geelong – August 17. Hit them up at asarival.com.

Spin Cycle From the fantastic team behind Spinning Half comes Spin Cycle, a big idea that aims to “become one of the best multi-stage, multigenre indoor events going around and promises an awesome end to winter party for all.” If there is anyone who could pull this bold claim off it is Spinning Half, and we at Forte were lucky enough to have a brief chat to the team to learn a little more. Can you give us a brief introduction to Spin Cycle? Spin Cycle is something that we have tried to create that is something more than just a gig ... So it’s not a Spinning Half gig, it’s Spin Cycle; an event to air your dirty laundry and combine your styles. Where has the idea derived from? Is this something you have always wanted to do? Spin Cycle has been a concept hanging around for some years now. It was based on the idea of creating an affordable indoor festival with some great name headliners and a huge line-up of local acts. Would you call it a festival or a large event? At this stage we’d call it a large event. MK1 was originally meant to be just one stage ... Now it’s three! How much effort and planning has gone into the event so far? A lot of planning has gone in so far but at the same time it was something that kind of fell together due to a few chance enquiries ... And the thought ‘why the hell not?!’ Can you tell us about your philosophy with the event? Basically we want to get as many local acts together and give them a chance to play on a line-up

with some top notch acts. In this climate local shows are hard – so let’s pool their resources. What bands and entertainment have you got organised? It’s a great mix of bands and acts across three rooms and stages – everything from heavy and prog to acoustic and electronic. The café will be open for food and there will be 4 bars on the go. What is the layout of the event going to be? Times, how many stage etc? Three stages: Main Concert Room, the downstairs Red Room and the Acoustic Kitchen complete with baby grand piano. Everything kicks off at 4pm, and no quiet time with all stages staggered nicely. Are you confident of this event being a success in the highly competitive festival industry? I’m not worried about the competitive festival industry. Let’s build something as a community that is affordable for local punters and is a place for bands to combine together in their masses to show some unity, but more importantly have some fun. Why should people come to SC? We think there is a great mix of music to cater for all punters, and with the addition of food and drinks we have the recipe for a great event. The more people that come, the more chance there is to make this something that the local acts can call their own in the future. Spin Cycle takes place at The Wool Exchange, Geelong on August 31 and features The Getaway Plan, Jerrico and Empra among others. Tickets are available through spinninghalf.oztix.com.au.

When&Where: The wool exchange, geelong - august 31 PICTURED: THE GETAWAY PLAN

Howlin’ Wind By Tex Miller

Ever since seeing Ian Anderson fronting Jethro Tull at Festival Hall in the late 60s, Andy Richardson, or Howlin’ Wind as he is better known, has always been inspired by the flute. This love of the instrument has seen Andy travel all around with world, most notably in England through the 1970s where he busked in the Green Park tube station. Over this time Andy’s music has traversed many different styles and genres. He has also recorded fifty albums. I recently sat down with Andy to have a chat about his remarkable career before his gig at the Courthouse Theatre on July 27. Having lived in Apollo Bay for a number of years, it was only a couple of years ago that Andy and his family made the move down to the Bellarine Peninsula. Drawing inspiration from being constantly surrounded by picturesque scenery, living a coastal lifestyle has allowed for Andy to dream, as he relates. “The lower coastline of Australia is amazing. However the coast and the ocean is always changing throughout the day. This has challenged my thinking about music and playing music. But physically, I love breathing in the fresh air and being able to meet new and interesting characters wherever you go.” Andy’s other project, The Space Keys, have played around Geelong venues for the past couple of years, spreading their psychedelic rock vibes wherever they go. Most notably the band played at The Nash, yet with the closure of the venue last year, Andy believes that the Geelong music scene has suffered a great loss given the majority of the other venues are 18+.

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“I hope that something replaces The Nash because it was an all-ages venue that opened its arms to people from all walks of life. The sound was good, the lighting was good and the vibe from up on stage in the band room was electric. It was nearly as good as the Espy in St Kilda. Because it was Geelong, and it has a proud history looking back to real tough rock bands like the Cosmic Psychos and Magic Dirt, I call Geelong the Australian Motown,” Andy said. With his own recording studio, Magnetic Heaven, Andy has over the past few years teamed up with Jim Moginie from Midnight Oil to write and release material. Currently they are working on an album of primarily flute and organ compositions that will see a late 2013/2014 release to coincide with a sophomore Space Keys album. Although he’s isn’t giving too much away about the Space Keys release, you can be sure to hear a lot more of a dirtier sound to the record. I for one am excited and can’t wait to see the band in full flight when they hit the road very soon. Andy’s discography is being republished by Sony ATV Music Publishing. Looking back retrospectively, how does a man that has achieved so much in his musical career define success? “I think that success is in your heart. I don’t have a big flash on success, I wouldn’t know. Obviously the grim reality of life is you have to pay your bills. As a musician, it’s how you feel you’re developing your craft. When I started all those years ago I had no idea that I would still be at it now. I wouldn’t know if I’m successful, but then I don’t really care because I have been happy.”

When&Where: Courthouse Theatre, Geelong – July 27

WHAT'S NEW!? A

Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines

If you haven’t seen the video for the title track from this album, I feel sorry for you. It features the beautiful model Emily Ratajkowski, who is my new celebrity crush. Available July 30 on Interscope. B

Iwrestledabearonce – Late for Nothing

Bloc Party – The Nextwave Sessions British outfit Bloc Party are releasing a new EP titled The Nextwave Sessions. It will contain the single ‘Ratchet’. Available August 13 on Frenchkiss Records.

Josh Pyke – The Beginning and the End of Everything Singer-songwriter Josh Pyke is back with his fourth studio album, The Beginning and the End of Everything. He’s also touring in August, so get on that too. Available now on Ivy League Records.

The American metalcore outfit with potentially the best name ever, Iwrestledabearonce are back with their third album, Late for Nothing. Available August 8 on Century Media.

Glass Towers – Halcyon Days One-time Unearthed High finalists, indie rockers Glass Towers have finally released their debut album. Available now on HUB The Label.

Whitley – Even the Stars are a Mess Whitley is back with a new album. Even if you don’t know Whitley, you know his song ‘Lost in Time’, because it was used in a Foxtel ad for what seemed like years. Available now on Dew Process.

Pluto Jonze – Eject All you need to know about Pluto Jonze is that he plays the theremin. He’s awesome live, but more importantly, he has an album out. Available now on Stop Start.

Dead Letter Circus – The Catalyst Fire Brisbane five-piece rock outfit Dead Letter Circus have released their sophomore album, The Catalyst Fire. Check out what I thought of the album in the review section. Available August 9 on UNFD.

You Am I – Reissues To coincide with their current tour, one of Australia’s best loved bands have reissued three of their classic 90s albums, Sound As Ever, Hi Fi Way and Hourly Daily on vinyl. Flick to the end of the magazine to see my reviews. Available now on Sony.

TOO HEAVY TO HUG

PAUL S TAYLOR chris cruz

Margaret Cho, possibly the most punk chick in the world, wants to cohost US TV snoozefest The View. I reckon she could really shake things up on daytime TV. And by shake things up, I mean offend lots of people with her potty mouth. Dear God, please let this happen. Here’s one to stick in your smart phone calendar, coz it’s ages away: Saturday, October 5th – Brunswick Hotel. This date marks the first-ever Melbourne show for Wollongong lads The Acid Monkeys and Sydney punk rockers Old Time Glory. And it’s free entry to boot! Muscle Mary and Hopes Abandoned round out the bill.

The rest of the line-up comprises nothing but more metalcore and emo bands – Parkway Drive, We Came As Romans, For All Those Sleeping and a bunch of bands only 15-year-old girls in skinny jeans could get into. Call me a cranky old fart, but this is not the Vans Warped Tour I grew up with, and it’s not the Vans Warped Tour that I want. The person responsible for this line-up deserves to be drawn and quartered.

It’s almost as if every country but THIS one manages to get it right when it comes to putting a decent festival lineup together. A good case in point is the Punk Rock Holiday Festival that took place in Slovenia last Speaking of the week: Millencolin, Brunny, I made a Propagandhi, huge stuff up in my Anti-Flag, Suicidal reporting on this Tendencies, Snuff, year’s upcoming H2O, The Casualties, Idiot Fest – the Strike Anywhere, date and line-up Swingin’ Utters, The hasn’t even been Mahones, Useless ID announced yet. and countless others. Somebody forwarded Yowza! me the details of LAST YEAR’s event! That’s not to say Boo-urns! Stay tuned that the second for actual details right national Hits & Pits here, real soon. festival isn’t shaping up nicely – it just By now you will have isn’t a FESTIVAL heard the line-up festival. It’s ten or announcement for so awesome bands the upcoming Vans playing in a large Warped Tour. And if nightclub. Black you are excited about Flag and Snuff are the first round of on the bill, and announcements, you that’s all I needed have no business to know. The rest reading this column. of the (admittedly The Offspring (who awesome!) line-up is were just here for just a bonus. Friday, Soundwave), New November 22 at The Found Glory (who Palace Theatre on tour Australia all Bourke Street. Get the time anyways), your tickets NOW if Simple Plan (really?! you haven’t already. playing the Warped And start saving for Tour? How did merch! THAT happen?!) and Veara. What’s a Veara?!

It’s not only essays about black metal that is thrusting metal in to academia but now, according to Blabbermouth, Melbourne metal virtuosos Ne Obliviscaris’ song ‘And Plague Flowers The Kaleido’ is to be included in a curriculum at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The man analysing the track is Professor Matthew Hindson, who is a real professor who writes real intelligent classical compositions for ballet and stuff and teaches students all there is about classical music. Obviously this metal track isn’t a classical track, but the idea that metal shares similarities with the finer high culture arts and that is has been acknowledged by a professor is a win. Every metal head secretly knows the difference between metal and other genres like R&B, hip hop, pop, alternative and even most rock and that it’s utter shit compared to metal, as said in the least descriptive way, but musically other popular genres lack the musical proficiency of metal and hence they appeal to the masses. It’s not called high culture so everyone is smart enough to get it. It’s not all pipes, cigars and cocktail lunches in the metal world, however. That Clown from Slipknot is yet again going to force his fans to watch him learn to use a video camera by making a documentary about eating disorders in his directorial debut of an adaptation of graphic novel Officer Downe. Time for some shameless selfpromotion: THTH will be celebrating its 150th instalment next fortnight so to celebrate with us all please send through all the free shit you

can to the Forte office and we’ll send ya’ll loads of metal vibes in reciprocation. In Other News… Chimaira will release their new album Crown of Phantoms on Friday, August 2. Aussie rockers Tracer will be at The Espy’s Gershwin Room to launch their new album El Pistolero, and support Aussie legends The Angels, on Saturday, August 3. Devil Driver will release their new album (and its title relates to life in Geelong and Ballarat over the recent months), Winter Kills. Due to set shivers through us all on Friday, August 23. Dead Letter Circus will play The Wool Exchange on Friday, August 30 and The HiFi on Saturday, August 31. The band that brought me so much inspiration for this column recently, 12 Foot Ninja, will play The Corner on Friday, October 4. Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice & Men and Crossfaith will kick out the jams for all ages at Festival Hall on Wednesday, October 9. The Devin Townsend Project will be at The Palace on Sunday, October 13. Every Time I Die will bring their unique brand of metalcore to the Corner Hotel on Sunday, October 20. Nile will play the Corner Hotel on Saturday, November 16. The Vans Warped Tour is heading to a TBA venue in Melbourne on Saturday, December 7 and riding the warp will be The Offspring, Hatebreed and Parkway Drive. I read somewhere that a new Tool album should be out in early 2014. So I’ll just leave this here to see if that happens.

Blank Thankless Air By BLAIR HALL

You either get it wrong or it is misinterpreted. It’s like having every second chapter torn out. It’s a void and then all of a sudden you’re trending on a Twitter account you never created. At the same time it’s hard not to be sincere about it. It would seem that the more you push away from it the more inescapable it becomes. I’m pretty sure I just made up that memory, but what you can’t confirm won’t ruin you, so in the meantime there’s this column.

see you writhing there in the basement, thinking about the wasted budget. At least you only need your lungs and vocal cords. You definitely don’t need your arms. You never learned how to play the piano, even though you seem to be doing it in all of your music videos. I bet you never even mastered the guitar, which is, let’s be honest, about as easy as throwing a sparrow into a woodchipper (with about a similar audible result). You just left it all to the producer.

Where aren’t they now?

People are starting to realise it now, don’t worry. Except with Timbaland. No-one gets that still and they likely never will. In the meantime, occupy yourself with that plan to dislocate your thumbs to get out of the handcuffs. I hear that if the adrenaline rush is high enough you don’t even feel it. Now maybe if I leave a chainsaw running on a (irony) chain dangling above you will that provide suitable motivation for you to do a little alteration to those digits?

They definitely aren’t hiding out in my newly installed basement, that’s for sure. If I suddenly decide to get rid of it is it counted as debasement? What will happen to the inhabitants? Are they allowed to leave? I don’t think I can let them leave. I mean, it’s one thing that they were successful in the 90s, but I can’t very well let them leave unscathed after having believed that it was at all possible to be successful in any other era. Kind of like ABBA coming back and working with Simon Cowell, then when they finally manage to tour France everyone up and has them hung, drawn and quartered. When you have no place in an industry it’s easy to criticise the people who do. You are financially independent and all of a sudden you can have any opinion that you want. Call it contrarianism, call it provocative; either way you can’t keep a lid on it. You especially can’t control it in the digital age, but you can certainly buy your way above it, so long as you’re marketing to the appropriate demographic. You’d hate to market to the wrong demographic, wouldn’t you. I can

You’ve probably never even made a decision in your life, so if I present this one as an option to you maybe you’ll just assume it’s the only way and we can get on with it. You certainly never did anything radical. Everyone just set the stage and then you played out the piece that you felt obligated to. Sure they provided for/loved/befriended you, but you were a too tightly bundled mess of nerves to be able to break through and decide whether or not you liked that which you were on the receiving end of provision/love/friendship. Culturally you’re a diamond, but socially you’re a witless Kafka.

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PET SHOP BOYS

tweet of the week

ELECTRIC Written by Adem with an E.

“ IS TEXAS OUT OF IT’S FUCKING “KEEP WOMEN SLAVES” MIND? THEY’RE CONFISCATING TAMPONS! BUT YOU CAN STILL BUY GUNS!! THIS IS THE FUCKING LIMIT! WOMEN OF TEXAS – CROSS YOUR LEGS! FUCK THESE MISOGYNIST IDIOTS! ACTUALLY NO, DON’T! DO THE OPPOSITE! FREEZE THESE BASTARDS OUT! STAND UP AND CLOSE UP SHOP. IF YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS HAVE BEEN TRAMPLED OUT OF EXISTENCE, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT, CIVILITY?” Legendary icon @Cher takes to Twitter last week to announce that she has had ENOUGH.

THE REVIEW.

British poppers the Pet Shop Boys released a record in 2012 most of us would rather forget. The absolute hit-free snooze-fest Elysium struck the wrong chord with long-time Pet Shop fans for its lack of middle-8’s, distinguishable choruses and the absence of a single decent four-by-four bassline. After the record’s monumental failure, the legendary two-piece embarked on the creation of Electric almost immediately, a record which is not only one of the best damage control albums we’ve heard, but possibly the best Pet Shop Boys LP since their game-changing debut Please in 1986. Embracing everything that has made the band’s music so quintessentially Pet Shop Boys, the British duo teamed up with producing icon Stuart Price (the man behind Jacques Lu Cont and producer of Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor) for a musical concoction which takes to heart and delivers on the plethora of iTunes reviewers requests from the release of Elysium: more banging and more noise. The musical marriage between the two parties has created such mind-blowing product that the duo have also announced Electric will be the first in a trilogy of album’s written and produced with Stuart Price – the best decision the Brit-poppers have made since their 1994 ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ release.

Cowbell-ready ‘Bolshy’ is a driving progressive house banger that plays out like the musical equivalent of a great night out on ecstasy and acid, whilst songs like ‘Fluorescent’, ‘Inside a Dream’ and ‘Shouting in the Evening’ follow a similar rave-friendly formula, once again proving that both Pet Shop and Price’s abilities are best utilised when surrounded by throbbing dance music.

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New album Electric is a bona fide revelation.

STUART PRICE

Can we get everyone working with Stuart Price on their new albums again? Thanks!

1600s composer Henry Purcell’s ‘King Arthur’ makes an appearance via a sample in Electric’s cream of the crop, the Bobby O-harking ‘Love is a Bourgeois Construct’, a bonza-track which ignites the senses within seconds of playing. The track takes the Pet Shop lads back to the Italo-electro sound they were so fond of in the first few years of their career and spirals itself into a modernisation of two very classic and very different sounds. The end result is nothing short of perfection – perfection sitting amongst the most perfect album of the year. Surprises like the Bruce Springsteen cover ‘The Last to Die’ – which has now had a full-on 80s synthtastic makeover – leaves one with a train of peculiar thoughts. The song’s lyrics are incredibly eerie; lyrics which shimmer brightly against the technicolour dance floor backdrop the duo have provided. Springsteen’s odd and paranoia-inducing lyrics (“Who’ll be the last to die for a mistake; The last to die for a mistake; Whose blood will spill, Whose heart will break; Who’ll be the last to die for a mistake”) only add to the charm of the track’s production, and the choice to cover it seems a somewhat telling sign of our day and age. But the biggest surprise here is future chart-topper ‘Thursday’ featuring a killer 1980s rap from UK popster

Example. All in all, ‘Thursday’ smells and sounds like a massive worldwide #1 hit – one which may actually turn out to be the duo’s first since their cover of The Village People’s ‘Go West’ in 1993. As far as records go, there aren’t many as sublime or as impressive as 2013’s Electric. Everything, from the sounds it produces to the undeniably perfect track-length, screams Classic Pop Moment. As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. You can over-bloat your record to 16-18 songs, but only 10 of those will make most iTunes playlist final cuts because, frankly, who the fuck has time for 18 songs on an album? Particularly if you were like me and born into an era that housed no more than 8 tracks on a record – and that was enough! It’s time for artists to stop over-flooding their albums with all that filler. With just 9 tracks, the Pet Shop Boys have wiped the floor clean with every album released in this current decade – and all they had to do was follow all of the necessary old-school criteria to creating a classic record. Let’s hope the others follow suit, because Electric has ignited a much needed fire in the Pop Stratosphere.

CHER

Literally the greatest thing to happen to Twitter.

TEXAS TAMPONS All kinds of ridiculous!!

MISOGYNISTIC MEDIA

There was a great quote online in response to many media groups reporting that Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win was the first UK win in the competition for over 70 years. “Yeah, that’s definitely the first win for the UK at Wimbledon in over 70 years if you don’t consider Women to be People.”

TONY ABBOTT

Can we hire Gretel Killeen on election night to notify him he’s being evicted from the house?

SHIT!

The monstrously good ‘Axis’ opens the record and sends the listener to dizzying heights within minutes. As an opener, ‘Axis’ is out of this world, confronting the ears with an almost vocal-free rave anthem that somewhat serves as a megamix made up of the kinds of soundscapes Electric has to offer. 1990s trance makes an appearance via album closer ‘Vocal’, a proper floor-burner with, as the lyrics say, “Every track has a vocal, and that makes a change.”

PET SHOP BOYS

HIT

Fusing the best of their early days with Bobby O and their later rave-revival courtesy of Rollo from Faithless in the mid 90s, Electric is an explosive nine-track monster that refuses to overstay its welcome (unlike Elysium) and packs more punch and quality than any album in the last three years. In fact, it’s such a special record that it plays out a lot smoother and less forced than that of a certain Daft Punk, whose recently overhyped and hotly anticipated album Random Access Memories – as great as it may be – sounds like a soundtrack to an animated Disney movie in comparison to the tough, upfront and modern Electric.

HIT OR SHIT!

Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)

Scene from Tim wintons the turning

by Anthony Morris

Melbourne once again becomes the centre of the cinematic universe (in a manner of speaking) with the 62nd annual Melbourne International Film Festival – or, if you want to sound like a cinematic insider, MIFF. With over 300 films from dozens of countries screening over seventeen days and nights, this year’s festival promises a wide-ranging and robust snapshot of world cinema today. The festival kicks off opening night with I’m So Excited!, Pedro Almodóvar’s over the top, biting satire on contemporary Spanish society about the passengers and crew on board an airliner bound for Mexico City who, believing the end is nigh, struggle to deal with sex and death … so not so different from their lives on the ground really. This year the festival is marking its halfway point with a special world premiere Centrepiece Gala screening of Tim Winton’s The Turning. A film adaptation of Tim Winton’s bestselling novel The Turning, it consists of 17 chapters – each featuring a different director and stellar cast. Under the guidance of curator Robert Connolly (Balibo), Mia Wasikowska and David Wenham make their directorial debut amongst acclaimed directors such as Warwick Thornton, Tony Ayres and Justin Kurzel, and stand-out performances from Australian talent including Rose Byrne, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh and numerous others. Homegrown filmmaking also shines in the Australian Showcase section, with the world premiere of three MIFF Premiere Fund-supported films: These Final Hours, the feature film debut of writer/director Zak Hilditch featuring a fresh, local take on the apocalypse subgenre; Rhys Graham’s Galore, in which four teens navigate the flashpoint of adolescent relationships; and documentary In Bob We Trust, directed by Lynn-Maree Milburn (Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard), which goes behind the scenes with controversial catholic provocateur Father Bob. Other Australian films include Mystery Road in which scriptwriter, editor, cinematographer and director Ivan Sen explores a compelling outback murder mystery with a cast that includes Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jack Thompson and Jack Charles; Fallout, the untold story of Nevil Shute’s famed novel On the Beach and the film of the same name; Lygon St – Si parla Italiano, the true story of Melbourne’s most iconic street as told by the men and women who made it; and Persons of Interest, where director Haydn

Keenan explores four persons of interest to ASIO – including Roger Milliss, Michael Hyde, Frank Hardy and Gary Foley – and the allegations contained in their previously secret ASIO files. From outside Australia, the International Panorama section features the feature-length debut from Kazik Radwanski, Tower; Mood Indigo, where the everwhimsical Michel Gondry reunites Audrey Tautou and Romain Duris for this adaptation of Boris Vian’s cult novel Froth on the Daydream; Brian de Palma is back with a twisted psychological thriller, Passion; and from award-winning director Reha Erdem comes Jîn, the story of a young Kurdish rebel who breaks away to find life and solace in the wilderness. 1970s and 80s cult Italian horror is showcased in Shining Violence: Italian Giallo. The spotlight shines on the most well-known giallo film to date, Dario Argento’s legendary Deep Red and his 1980s return to giallo, Tenebrae. It’s an excellent chance to see these classics on the big screen (and in 35mm prints), including rarities such as Flavio Mogherini’s unconventional, Australian-set The Pyjama Girl Case and the Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear winner A Quiet Place in the Country, directed by Elio Petri. The music section Backbeat is bigger than ever in 2013, with a clear highlight being the behindthe-scenes look at The National on tour filmed by frontman Matt Berninger’s younger brother, Tom. He’s a layabout, a metalhead and a roadie for the band in his film Mistaken for Strangers, a mystifying, hilarious and very much improvised investigation of the relationship between these two extremely different brothers. The backup singers who made great songs greater and enhanced the voices of music icons from Mick Jagger to Stevie Wonder step into the limelight in Morgan Neville’s Twenty Feet from Stardom. Despite being platinum-sellers, Jared Leto’s Thirty Seconds to Mars hadn’t seen a cent of royalties, so they tried to exit their contract. Their label sued them for $30 million. What began as an object lesson from EMI resulted in a David and Goliath struggle between a floundering industry and its indentured servants that’s documented in the film Artifact. And from Australia, charting the colourful three-decade history of the Cosmic Psychos, is Cosmic Psychos: Blokes You Can Trust. The Night Shift section offers cinema lovers with a taste for the extreme all the blood-soaked brutality, zombies, reanimated corpses, psychedelic madness and Japanese weirdness they can handle. At the

But there’s a hidden factor at work here: Man of Steel is a movie that, at its core, takes itself incredibly seriously. If it didn’t, why would there be so many scenes comparing Superman to Christ? In contrast, while Pacific Rim is hardly a comedy, it’s mostly a film that just wants to be a bunch of monster-smashing fun. And the fanboys that make up most of the audience that Hollywood’s interested in these days (please ignore the fact that the few movies made for

Harley Quinn: Night and Day

Alastair: This week’s Pulp is going to be a bit different. Because my usual partner-in-crime/comics has just gotten married, he’s taken the week off. So, instead of Cameron’s usual half, you lovely folks will be subjected to the whims of the ever-fabulous Mr Blair Hall, who joins Pulp as a guest columnist. Look out for his ramblings a little bit further down the page. Anyway, on to the comics!

y M orr is

Man of Steel and Pacific Rim were both reviewed pretty much the same (as films that had their flaws, but also had some good things about them – outright raves or dismissals for either were pretty rare), and yet Man of Steel made all the money while Pacific Rim struggled. Why? If you’re not in the market for that kind of massive destructive spectacle based almost entirely around huge, almost entirely CGI-scenes of things being wrecked, both films seem pretty much identical in tone and approach.

Closing night sees the Australian Premiere of All is Lost, the almost entirely dialogue-free tale of a roundthe-world yachtsman struggling against nature and his craft’s technical limitations. The talk of Cannes, JC Chandor’s follow-up to the Oscar nominated Margin Call, sees Robert Redford shine in his most physically demanding, powerful performance ever.

>>>>>> By Cameron Urquhart & Alastair McGibbon

cultu

With the blockbuster season all but over with – The Wolverine is technically the last big blockbuster of the US summer, with a few films like White House Down yet to make it over here – it’s pretty easy to see who the big winners and losers were. Oddly, despite the temptation to claim that the films that did well were the good films and the ones that did badly were the bad ones, it’s pretty obvious that, at least as far as box office goes, that wasn’t really the case.

heart of this ten-film-strong program is Mark Hartley’s re-imagining of the 1978 Ozploitation classic Patrick, starring Rachel Griffiths, Sharni Vinson, Charles Dance and Damon Gameau. There’s also director Ben Wheatley’s psychedelic trip into magic and madness in A Field in England and Takashi Miike’s Lesson of the Evil, which sees him make a triumphant return to the blood-strewn savagery that made his name.

PULP.

POrPe! By An th on

info: MIFF runs from July 25th to the 11th of August at cinemas across Melbourne’s CBD. For screening times, locations and ticket details, call the festival office on (03) 9662 3722, or check online at MIFF.com.au

non-fanboys, such as the female buddy cop film The Heat, silly kids film Despicable Me 2 and the puerile Adam Sandler comedy Grown Ups 2 effortlessly scored big time at the box office) want their power fantasies taken completely seriously, thank you very much. It’s not that you can’t make jokes for fanboys: Star Trek Into Darkness and Iron Man 3 both had the occasional light-hearted moment, and the upcoming The World’s End by the Shaun of the Dead team is full of them. But at its core that film (just like their previous efforts) takes the nerd-friendly elements of the story totally seriously. Shaun of the Dead never made fun of the idea of zombies; Man of Steel never makes fun of the idea of a super-powered and superhandsome alien defending the planet from his fellow aliens who are only here in the first place because he’s here. That’s not to say that taking nerdish ideas seriously is a sure-fire path to success, as plenty of serious films tanked this year too (and being serious probably wouldn’t have helped The Lone Ranger, as its original fan base is pushing 60 at best). But making a film aimed at fanboys that doesn’t take fanboys as seriously as they take themselves is a sure-fire way to fail. Don’t be expecting the next instalment of The Hobbit to be pointing out just how silly it is having fourfoot tall guys fighting giant orcs and dragons any time soon.

This week I’ve delved into the realm of insane psychiatrists: I got my hands on Harley Quinn: Night and Day (written by Karl Kesel of Hawk and Dove and Superboy fame) and SpiderWoman: Origin by Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man, Daredevil). Harley Quinn’s artistic duties were handled by Terry Dodson (Uncanny X-Men), and for the most part do an excellent job of capturing the story’s kooky feel. Night and Day follows Harley as she tries to establish herself as a big-time crime boss in Gotham City – this time without the Joker. In typical Harley fashion, the story jumps around like a kid on red cordial, and follows her as she recalls her initial descent into madness, goes shopping with Hyenas in tow, and even spends a brief time masquerading as Batgirl. It’s a great light-hearted read, and highly recommended.

orange juice, and even then I can’t do it daily or even weekly because my skin breaks out in a terrible rash. But I guess I do really like art films crafted by Japanese directors who entered the studio system through making “Pinku Eiga”, or “Pink Films” – or to put it plainly, “Porn”. But it’s not porn like you’ve seen it before! No no, I’m not just in it for the kink!

Spider-Woman: Origin is (shock horror) an origin story for Jessica Drew. I won’t go into too much detail, but I found the story to be a bit up and down – unusual for the talented Mr Bendis. The art, by Image Comics regular Jonathan Luna, borders between average and sub-par. Despite these setbacks, it’s still a solid read.

There’s wildly psycho-analytical symbolism reaching farther into the depths of the characters than anything you’d get in modern adult entertainment. These directors – for example, Toshio Matsumoto, Koji Wakamatsu and Masao Adachi – were in it to break ground and redefine what it meant to make love, kill, take and own. Eyes are gouged, politics is discussed, drugs are passed around like candy and every now and then a room full of women is taken hostage by a psychopath who proceeds to have his way with them and stab them one by one. But the world this is all in is not fictional; it’s just a mirror to the one that’s already off on endless wild and bloody tangents of its own.

Now, prepare yourself for Blair…

Recommended:

Blair:

Funeral Parade of Roses by Toshio Matsumoto: Oedipus Rex told through the power play of transsexuals in a bar in Tokyo.

Much like how when you change your Hotmail password to your girlfriend’s middle-name because it’s esoteric-enough and easy to remember (but then she dumps you) I am somehow entered into an agreement – that I created the terms of – without an inkling as to how I could actually deliver the goods, i.e. contributing to the column referred to as “Pulp”. The only thing remotely pulpy that I consume is

Ecstasy of the Angels by Koji Wakamatsu: 60s student movement meets radical extremist terrorism meets sex and violence, often all in a single scene. Gushing Prayer by Masao Adachi: Woman loses all feeling amidst an orgy. Cue internal monologues and self-inquisition.

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The Full Monty by Sue Rawkins

In these tough times – how far would you go? Good question. That’s why staging this musical right now is so appropriate for Geelong, given all the bad news and catastrophic events we have had lately. This story of survival, friendship and self-worth is on the surface a hilarious comedy, yet the gritty reality of the lives of the main characters, six unemployed men, is a key element in making the story so moving. Adapted from the successful 1997 British film, with book by Terrence McNally, score by David Yazbek, this Americanised musical stage version is set in a redundant steel mill in a depressed Buffalo, New York. Best friends Jerry Lukowski and Dave Bukatinsky along with the other unemployed mill workers collect their unemployment checks and ponder their “Scrap” lives.

MAIN PHOTO: Hot Metal perform Let It Go! At Four Points by Sheraton BELOW: The recent media launch for The Full Monty saw the members of Hot Metal take to the red carpet from their stretch limo, cheered on by the ladies from the Cast and other adoring fans, outside the Four Points by Sheraton at the Waterfront.

Meanwhile their wives, ex-wives and girl friends head for a night out at a local club to see Buddy (Keno) Walsh, a male stripper from the Big A. Jerry overhears a conversation outside the club and has a lightbulb moment –if the women are prepared to pay to see this kind of act, then they’d be prepared to pay big bucks for a one night only show to see their own “normal” men do the same.

The Shenton Performing Arts Centre Cnr Garden & Ryrie Streets, Geelong. For Geelong High School’s Performing Arts Coordinator Doug Mann, the beautiful, new-look 138-seat Shenton Performing Arts Centre is a dream come true.

Deciding to train and get fit, Jerry and Dave come across Malcolm who is attempting suicide in his car. They help him out and enlist him as a member of their strip troupe. Malcolm still has a job at the mill as the night security guard, and this gives them a place to rehearse. Embarking on auditions, enter Jeanette Burmeister, pianist and tough old ‘seen-it-all’ showbiz personality, and Harold Nichols, ballroom dance coach and reluctant troupe member. After a few disappointing tryouts, they finally have their last two members of the troupe – Ethan – who longs to dance like Donald O’Connor in Singin’ In The Rain and has a jaw dropping, euphemisminducing penis; and Horse, the urban legend “Big Black Man” – with comprehensive dance knowledge (despite advanced arthritis). After a few rehearsals they decide to preview the act at an old folks home, but it gets raided by the cops. Malcolm and Ethan escape arrest and realize they have both found what they were looking for, in each other. Jerry is determined to go on with the show and after his ex-wife Pam, threatens him with losing custody of his son Nathan, he decides to knuckle down and get the job done, promising that the group now known as “Hot Metal” will go all the way – The Full Monty! Dave, embarrassed by his weight and calling himself a “fat bastard”, chickens out and gets a

Doug says, “We now have a theatre that will work really well, and will be operated along professional lines. Part of the reason for rebuilding it was to create a facility to add to the artistic possibilities in Geelong.” The project was funded by the School Council using funds accrued over many years. The Silver Gulls, the Geelong High School Alumni, also spearheaded the fund raising drive. job at the local Mall, but confesses to his wife Georgie when she finds his G-string, what he was hoping to do. With her love and support he rejoins the troupe. With a sell-out show on their hands, Jerry loses it, but his son Nathan convinces him to do it, and so he plucks up courage and gets out there to “Let It Go” on stage with the rest of Hot Metal. The big climax - do they go The Full Monty? Well, you’ll have to come along and see…..

Presented by GSODA Director: Debbie Fraser Producer: Maria McQuinn Musical & Vocal Director: Jonathan Harvey Choreographer: Jordan Punsalang

Doug Mann thinks that the new performance space will be the perfect venue for ‘boutique’ musicals and will be available for hire by performers and theatre companies. In the converted church there is a newlook foyer and separate gallery space, perfect for theatre goers to mingle during interval. The old storage building behind the church has been gutted and turned into a clean, spacious ‘green room’ for performers waiting to go on stage.

WHERE: Shenton Performing Arts Centre. Cnr Garden & Ryrie Streets, Geelong. WHEN: August 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 30, 31, Sept 1. TIX: www.trybooking. com or phone: (0) 3 90123460

There is atmosphere a-plenty, with tales of a resident ghost spookily making mischief with performer’s costumes backstage! Geelong High School’s first production in the new-look venue will be The Importance of Being Earnest (see this issue’s Refining The Palette), with The Full Monty the first fully-fledged musical to be staged there. Photo by: Sue Rawkins

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Penny Plain By Ronnie Burkett Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes Penny Plain is blind, but she hears plenty about the state of things and the fate of mankind. And so she decides to sit in her overstuffed chair, nevermore to venture outside waiting for the world to end. When her companion dog Geoffrey leaves to live as a man, Penny’s end-of-days vigil is interrupted by survivalists, a serial killer, a cross-dressing banker, talking dogs and mysterious strangers seeking sanctuary. Part gothic thriller, part apocalyptic drawing room comedy, Penny Plain shows the funny and chilling consequences as mother earth cleans house and reclaims her ground. Canada’s foremost artist in puppet theatre, Ronnie Burkett has been credited with creating some of the world’s most elaborate and provocative puppetry. He last visited GPAC in 2009 with the unforgettable Billy Twinkle Requiem for a Golden Boy and will astound audiences with this new production.

‘DIRT FILES: A DECADE OF THE BEST AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL CARTOONS’ More than just a cartoon collection, Dirt Files is an interpretation of the key political movements and longer-term themes that have played out in foreign policy, war, the economy, social policy, refugees, industrial relations, the media and party politics. The Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E.) is delighted to host an exhibition in August, as well as a panel event with the creator Russ Raddcliffe. Russ has edited collections for some of Australia’s finest cartoonists including Alan Moir, Bruce Petty, Bill Leak, Matt Golding and Judy Horacek.

the Surf Coast Arts Trail 2013 Following the success of the inaugural Surf Coast Arts Trail in 2012, Surf Coast Shire artists will again be throwing open their studio doors to visitors wishing to experience an artist’s life, and perhaps to buy a piece of original art.

Where: Many venues around the Surf Coast Shire. WheN: Sat & Sun August 10 & 11. 10-4. Entry to venues is free. INFO: Maps and artist information can be downloaded from: www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/ News_Directory/2013Surf_Coast_ArtsTrail

WINTER PICCADILLY MARKET Escape the cold this winter in an indoor artisan market bursting with more than 70 stalls of beautiful, unique jewellery, adult and children’s clothing, homewares, music and more. Gourmet food is available from the licensed café. A fabulous market that showcases high quality, handmade products, created by craftspeople, designers and artists. If you’re looking for something totally unique and one of a kind, you’ll be sure to find it at this market. Plenty of parking available. Proudly supporting Rivers Gift. Where: Deakin Waterfront Campus, Geelong. WheN: Sun August 4. 10-4 INFO: www.piccadillymarket.com.au

Shaun Tan: the real and the imaginary Shaun Tan is most widely recognised for his illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Shaun Tan: the real and the imaginary, is an exhibition of original artworks by this internationally celebrated Australian artist. The exhibition highlights the breadth of Tan’s creative practice

and technical skill, presenting paintings, drawings, collages and sketches selected almost exclusively from the artist’s private archive. Presented in partnership with La Trobe University for Bendigo Writers Festival. Where: Bendigo Art Gallery. 42 View Street, Bendigo, 3550. WheN: Aug 9-Sept 1. Open daily 10-5. PHONE: 5434 6088. INFO: www. bendigoartgallery@ bendigo.vic.gov.au

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Where: M.A.D.E. Cnr Stawell St South & Eureka St, Ballarat 3350. WheN: Aug 2-14. Open 10-5 every day. PHONE: 1800 287 113. INFO: www.made.org EMAIL: info@made.org

2013 Victorian State Schools Spectacular There’s No Place Like Home, is a huge concert-style extravaganza of highenergy dance routines, vocals and circus tricks featuring Victoria’s most talented young performers, in two shows only, Saturday 27 July, 11am and 5pm at Hisense Arena. A cast of over 3000 from more than 300 State Schools from across Victoria will take part in this three-hour Spectacular. 2013 Victorian State Schools Spectacular features an 80-piece orchestra, 1500-voice choir, 1400 mass dancers, 23 lead

vocalists, 25 principal dancers, 25 ensemble dancers, 14 backing vocalists, 40 roller skaters and 30 circus performers from the National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA). The family event promises 47 toe-tapping tunes from popular, rock and classical artists including Lady Gaga, Daft Punk, Katy Perry, Tom Waits and Ella Fitzgerald as they explore this year’s theme – There’s No Place Like Home. Chong Lim is the Musical Director, Neill Gladwin is the Creative Director and Troy Phillips is the Dance Director. The Spectacular’s growing alumni includes pop star Vanessa Amorosi, musical theatre

Where: GPAC. Drama Theatre. 50 Little Malop St, Geelong, 3220 WheN: July 30-Aug 3 at 8pm. PHONE: 5225 1200. BOOKINGS: www.gpac.org.au

leads Jazz Flowers (Hairspray) and Bobby Andonov (Lion King), actress Hany Lee (Neighbours), and The Voice winner Harrison Craig. Where: Hisense Arena, Batman Ave, Melbourne, 3001. WheN: Sat July 27. 11am and 5pm

PHONE: 9415 1700. BOOKINGS: www. ticketek.com.au/ spectacular INFO: www.education. vic.gov.au. You can download this event in iCal format and add it to your personal calendar on your computer. EMAIL: performing. arts@edumail.vic.gov.au

GEELONG GALLERY - COLLECTIONS This major publication documents a rich and representative selection of works of art acquired by the Gallery since the foundation of the institution in 1896. It focuses on some 200 key works from a collection of over 6,000 works, while also acknowledging the legacy of major benefactors over the course of the institution’s history. The book features the work of almost 200 creators from Rick Amor to Anne Zahalka, including Clarice Beckett, Arthur Boyd, Derby, Gustave Doré, Russell Drysdale, Tony Hanning, Benjamin Leader, Edwin Long, Frederick McCubbin, Polixeni Papapetrou, Royal Doulton & Co, Jeffrey Smart,

Grace Cossington Smith, Arthur Streeton, Eugene von Guérard, Brett Whiteley, Fred Williams, and many more. Beautifully designed by Design by Pidgeon, and produced by leading art printers Adams Print. Geelong Gallery—Collections is available for sale through the Geelong Gallery Shop for $50.00. Where: Geelong Gallery shop. Little Malop Street, Geelong. WheN: Open daily 10-5. PHONE: 5229 3645. INFO: www. geelonggallery. org.au EMAIL: geelart@ geelonggallery. org.au Photo by: David Pidgeon.

KENNETH JACK – Metropolis Gallery Paintings, drawings and prints from the Jack Family Collection. Metropolis Gallery in association with the Jack family is excited to make available a large collection of significant works by Kenneth Jack (1924-

2006) from the 1940s–90s, including many works that are being exhibited for the first time or that have not been seen for many years. Where: Metropolis Gallery. 64 Ryrie Street, Geelong, 3220.

WheN: Aug 9-24. Open MonFri, 9-5.30; Sat 10-4. PHONE: 5221 6505 INFO: www.metropolisgallery. com.au EMAIL: robert@ metropolisgallery.com.au

arts news from around town – and beyond! Call For Entries To 2013 Victorian Premier’s Design Awards Good Design Australia is calling for entries to the 2013 Victorian Premier’s Design Awards. Relaunched as an annual event in 2012, the Premier’s Design Awards recognise and reward Victorian designers and businesses using exemplar design effectively and sustainably The Premier’s Design Awards provide an opportunity for businesses and the community to better understand the role of design in making products and services more functional, efficient and attractive, and ultimately increasing productivity and business outcomes.    Entries to the Premier’s Design Awards will be accepted in the following categories:  1. Architectural Design.  2. Service Design.  3. Industrial and Product Design.  4. Communication Design.  5. Digital Design.  6. Design Strategy.   Entries will be judged by an eminent international and interstate judging panel, chaired by Victorian designer Ken Cato, AO. Award winners will receive the unique opportunity to license the Premier’s Design Awards trademark to use in connection with their

businesses as an indication of leadership, expert recognition and prestige.   The Premier’s Design Awards Ceremony will be held in October 2013, with call for applications closing on 20 August 2013.   It is one of the key initiatives forming part of Victoria’s Design Initiatives 2012-15, a $10 million commitment to support best practice design in Victoria, grow awareness of design, build business capability and foster excellence in design skills.   For more information about the Victorian Government’s design programs visit business.vic.gov. au/design WheN: Entries close Aug 20. The awards will be held in Oct 2013. PHONE: 9415 1700. INFO: www.premiersdesignawards.org.au

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Directed by Doug Mann. Geelong High School’s production of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest will be the inaugural presentation in the all-new Shenton Theatre. This play was first performed in 1895 and is as hilarious now as it undoubtedly was then. Experience Earnest as you never have before! Where: Shenton Theatre, Cnr Ryrie & Garden Sts, East Geelong, 3219. WheN: July 25-Aug 3 at 7.30pm PHONE: 5225 4100. BOOKINGS: www. trybooking.com/52912

Geelong Fringe Festival By Tex Miller

Over the past year and a half, Courthouse ARTS have brought us into the minds of some of Australia’s finest singers and songwriters with their concert series of A Conversation in the Key Of. Last year’s program sold out in a matter of weeks and this year is looking no different. In the first week of September, the Courthouse is running another two conversations with Stephen Cummings and Ross Hannaford, and the Geelong Fringe Festival as well. I recently caught up with Soraya Mobayad and Stacey Williams to find out a little about it. “It began with a discussion between members of the AAP (Arts Advisory Panel) to run a fresh and original event that was a little out of the box to what we usually run throughout the year. It really came about when we realised how many events we had corresponding in

the same week, and it seemed a whole lot of fun to have a whole week of events running between the Conversation in the Key Of. It had to be edgy, and two main words of the concept were Risk and Subversion,” Stacey and Soraya said when I met them in the Courthouse Café recently. With considerable support from Deakin University, the Fringe Festival draws on the extended abilities of artists, musicians, installation artists, photographers and filmmakers from all around the region, and showcases the best of the best within the week-long event. With invitations extended to artists that have previously been involved with Courthouse ARTS, one of the most exciting exhibits within the festivities is ‘The New Wilderness’ installation, which will be constructed by small teams of four and five people of the invited artists and showcased in the

gallery on September 6th. “Cameron Bishop from Deakin University was a main driving force in getting the ball rolling for The New Wilderness. We talked about Ford closing down and how ALCOA was headed down the same path. In the absence of the manufacturing industry suffering such a blow, this is now allowing for artists to communicate through their creative outlets whatever they want through that brief. We are going to take the artists to recycle centres in the week leading up and what they construct, and what will be presented, is a very exciting aspect for us,” Stacey said. With a week-long of project work and then a week of exhibition, the hype surrounding the festival is increasing as the opening night draws closer. Yet, if you’re more of a music fan, there is plenty of that throughout the week too, with two conversations and a special Burke and Wills: The Expedition concert, which features Wagons frontman and all round legend, Henry Wagons. “This Henry Wagons show is going to be hectic. For anyone that’s seen a Wagons show, the enthusiasm that he brings to a performance is out of this world, and I think we are certain to see the same with this show. He has 5 or 6 different artists along that night telling of the story of the fateful expedition throughout the Australian desert in 1860,” Stacey said. For more information on the Fringe Festival be sure to keep in the loop with the Courthouse’s mailing lists and social media pages for what is coming up next. If edgy and out of the box is your thing, check this out. When&Where: Courthouse ARTS – August 31 through 8. Hit courthouse.org.au for more.

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ArtS Profile introduces:

Courtney Ward

Specialising in floristry, illustration and installation, Courtney Ward is a “selftaught creative” who discovered her artistic thirst while doing her VCE. She is our Arts Profile guest for this issue, so let’s get acquainted… Please introduce yourself to Forte readers and tell us a bit about your background. Born and bred in Geelong, I picked up my initial interest in the Arts during VCE. As I haven’t officially trained anywhere I adopt the title of a ‘self-taught creative’, as my chosen mediums vary with each project. I’m currently working towards establishing a vast and bountiful body of work that really communicates my fascination with the natural world. I study History and Visual Arts at Deakin University and am looking to undergo the post-graduate course in Museum Studies. My dream is to own and run a small gallery of my own, specialising in local emerging talents. Where is it you reside? How has living in that area shaped the art you have come to produce? For the past three years I’ve lived in Geelong West, but regularly visit my parents in Ocean Grove. The drive through Wallington is always a romantic one for me; rolling fields and over-sized cypress trees create a beautiful and stimulating backdrop to a lot of my works. Lake Connewarre is a very special place for me, often providing me with the peace I need before I delve into new works.

What is it you do? Are you a painter, sculptor, photographer? It’s difficult for me to define my medium. I paint, photograph, and after completing my Floristry Certificate 3, I produce more installation pieces involving flowers. However, working with ink pens and fineliners is consistent through all my works on paper and has become an identifiable trait. How did you get into this art form? What has been your inspiration to continue to pursue this art form? The line art style of works I can honestly say became established out of habit. Constantly filling the margins of workbooks with small pictures in biro actually refined my skills in terms of working with ink pens. I like to see how detailed I can make works. I love the reaction of people when they take a closer look at how many fine strokes are on the paper. It’s a style that I continue to pursue because I can see my works becoming better, with more fluidity and detail. If you were listening to someone describe your work, how would you like it to be described? It’s hard to say! I like people to simply recognise the aesthetics of the piece and enjoy the overall composition. For me if someone describes your work as ‘beautiful’, that’s an achievement in itself. Have you taken part in many exhibitions, displays, shows? The most recent of my shows was held at the Meraki Gallery at the Courthouse. Before that I’d been rather quiet on the Geelong art circuit, producing works for a friend’s café and partaking in collaborative shows such as ‘PEEL your eyes’, hosted in the old Dimmeys building. What has been your greatest achievement as an artist to date? My last show Growth, Undergrowth was a real achievement for me. It was my opportunity to showcase a refined style of works and also display my newly acquired floristry knowledge. The exhibition was received really well and it was a very proud moment for me. What is it you look to gain from your work? Is it a hobby or are you looking for widespread exposure? I’m currently in the middle of relocating to Sydney to focus on producing new works as well as attracting a wider audience. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want widespread exposure. I mean, isn’t it everyone’s dream to be paid to do what you love? For me it is. Where can people go to check out your stuff? Courtneypaigeward.com

ART By Tex Miller On the road between Mildura and Warragul, I recently got the opportunity to sit down with Jeff Michel to have a chat about Art, an upcoming production that is to hit the Potato Shed in Drysdale on the 27th of July. For the past month Blue Cow Theatre has been touring this show around the country to rave reviews, and so when I sit down to have a chat with Jeff, the vibe is very excited. “We had a show in Mildura last night – what a show! We also did a workshop for two of the high schools there and that was very exciting to be able to sit down with those kids and talk about the show and their experience from watching it. In a way we’re leading the gypsylike rockstar-esque lifestyle travelling all around the country, but the reception from all of the audiences has been fantastic thus far and we can’t wait to get down to perform at the Potato Shed in a couple of weeks,” Jeff said. In 2010, John Xintavelonis, Robert Jarman and Jeff Michel created Blue Cow Theatre as a way of putting on the production of Art. Since then the Tasmanian theatre company has taken productions all around the country, yet when they first started they had no idea of the acclaim that would be bestowed upon them. “When we first started out, it was a profit share and we didn’t really know how successful it was going to be. Everyone in Tasmania

seemed to like what we were doing and thus the journey began. In 2011, we put on a production called Tidal Pools and earlier this year we did an interpretation of the Don Juan.” In the early days of the production of Art, the set design was small and compact due to the limitations of the theatre space in Tasmania, yet as the demand for the show has built, so has the logistics of taking it on tour. For those readers that haven’t heard about Art, the production tells the story of three friends who are in an argument about a painting that one of the friends has bought. Throughout the play’s duration, the ideology of friendship and relationships is discussed via this simple concept. Jeff’s role in the play is the man that has bought the painting. “For me, it’s a different role to play. What does that say about my friendship if my friend doesn’t like the painting that I decided to spend my own money on? I think that the main idea to take away from watching this production is how do you view your own friendship with your family and colleagues. I hope that people will think about that after seeing the show and that we can in some way, no matter how small or large, have an impact on their lives.” The professionalism and consistency of his fellow actors is what Jeff thinks makes this production fresh and innovative. Having seen a couple of clips of the performance on YouTube, this is definitely one play not to miss, as although Blue Cow Theatre is still a new company in the theatre world, there have been numerous conversations about taking the show abroad – and thus you’d be crazy to miss it! When&Where: The Potato Shed, Drysdale – July 27

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FILM REVIEWS

by anthony morris

This Is The End

Only God Forgives

Jay Baruchel (Jay Baruchel) arrives in L.A. to spend the weekend with his friend and fellow actor Seth Rogen (cowriter and co-director Seth Rogen). All he’s expecting from this trip is a lot of time on the couch playing video games and getting high; Rogen wants to hit a star-studded party at the mansion of James Franco (James Franco). Once there the party features stars expected (Jason Segal), unexpected (Rihanna), and nothing like they are in real life (Michael Cera). Jay heads outside on a trip to buy cigarettes; Rogen follows. They get into how Jay’s dislike for L.A. is pushing them apart … and then the Rapture happens. That’s right: full Biblical apocalypse, with the good getting taken bodily up to heaven while the bad – everyone at Franco’s party – are left behind to suffer all manner of unknown torments. A sinkhole wipes out the excess cast, leaving just Jay, Rogen and Franco – plus Jonah Hill (Jonah Hill) and Craig Robinson (Craig Robinson) – to barricade themselves inside Franco’s place and try to survive. Being limited to one location makes for cheap movie-making, but a little improv is often more than enough. Thankfully the extended banter here is both very funny and largely confined to the film’s middle third, with loads of new elements thrown in to keep things fresh. For one, it seems Danny McBride (Danny McBride) snuck into the party after Franco didn’t invite him –and he’s a bit of a tool. The self-referential comedy is nasty enough to have something of an edge to it, but this is a fantasy film – especially in the third act, where demonic possession, cannibalism, devil beasts and enormous satanic penises abound – so if you’re expecting a scathing takedown of Hollywood’s comedy elite this isn’t for you. Unlike pretty much every US comedy of the last few years, this is fast-paced and doesn’t run its jokes into the ground. Even the emotional heart of the film – the split between Rogen and Jay – moves along at a steady clip that largely conceals the fact that Jay’s being a bit of a jerk. Hey, it is Rogen’s film.

Julian (Ryan Gosling) runs a boxing club in Thailand to provide a cover for his drug dealing operations. He has a slightly more verbose brother, Billy (Tom Burke), and one night Billy wanders off and ends up raping and killing an underage girl. Considering they find him next to the body covered in blood, you’d think this’d be an open-and-shut case. Instead, they bring in Lieutenant Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm). His methods are a little on the extreme side: first he orders the dead girl’s father to kill Billy, and once Billy is dead Chang lops off the father’s arm for letting his daughter become a prostitute. You’re probably getting the idea that director Nicolas Winding Refn isn’t exactly telling a feel-good story here; that’s a good feeling to go with. Julian briefly shows a flicker of emotion at the death of his brother, but once he finds out why he was killed he’s willing to let it slide. Not so his mother Crystal (Kristen Scott Thomas), who’s both terrifying and hilarious in her bitchiness to everyone who crosses her path. She turns out to be Julian’s boss in their global crime organisation, and she’s not someone willing to let her son’s killer walk; Chang is not someone willing to let anyone who comes at him live. This is art-house 101: stretches of not a whole lot punctuated by shocking scenes of intense violence. Refn’s always been a skilled director and he pushes this formula hard here, turning a story that could have easily been told in half an hour into a film three times that length as Chang, who walks the streets with a sword down the back of his shirt, tortures and kills pretty much everyone in every scene with him who isn’t in uniform or isn’t his daughter. Not every actor can make a character that holds our interest out of someone who, one emotional outburst aside, never expresses feelings using his face, so Gosling’s work here shouldn’t be underrated. But this is still a shallow film devoted almost entirely to style over substance. It feels a lot like Refn is trying to scare off the fans he gained with Drive. That might not be reason enough to check this out.

Before Midnight We last saw Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) nine years ago. It was at the end of Before Sunset, in Celine’s Paris apartment, and Jesse was (maybe) about to miss his flight back to America. It was a cliffhanger that mirrored the end of Before Sunrise nine years before that (there the couple separated but pledged to meet up again six months later), and now director Richard Linklater has returned for a third look at the young couple. Even after eighteen years, their journey through life has lost none of its spark or insight. It seems Jesse stayed with Celine after Before Sunset and they’ve been together for the past nine years – they even have two daughters together. So it’s pretty much your typical happy-ever-after scenario, right down to them now being on holiday in Greece. But where the first two films were all about finding (or rediscovering) love, this opens with a cloud over the happy couple, as we see Jesse waving off his son from his first marriage (mentioned in Before Sunset) as he flies home. His mother refuses to share custody, and with them based in France for Celine’s work, Jesse’s now feeling a little estranged from him. It’s hardly a fatal flaw, and their drive home is a happy one, but this is still something unresolved between the two of them. Hawke and Delpy are credited as co-writers alongside Linklater, and with their extended (and filmed in onetake) conversations, the film really benefits from the chemistry that’s developed between the two actors. The earlier instalments (set in Vienna and Paris) were as much about the cities as the characters. Here, the sparse Greek landscape comes to symbolise the rocky ground their relationship is on – and a long walk through a village containing an ancient church gives us a chance to take in the view. But it’s no surprise that while the first two films roamed through their respective cities right until the end, the final third of this one takes place in a generic hotel room. The real meat of this film is a frighteningly realistic argument that seemingly flares up from nothing but is clearly half-rehash of old issues, half-inevitable clash between conflicting desires. True love isn’t just about sticking together after one special night; it involves compromise and giving things up. This is a spot-on look at exactly that.

The Conjuring It’s the early 1970s, and paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren are making a tidy living from lecturing about the various ghosts and demons they’ve tangled with. The film’s opening segment – where they talk about a group of nurses foolish enough to “invite” a spirit to inhabit an already creepy-looking old doll – is value for money right there. If only they started charging admission to the room in their house where they store all their various supernatural items (“everything you see here is haunted, cursed, or used in some form of ritualistic activity”), they’d make a mint. Not that they’re just cashing in here. Ed is the only non-ordained exorcist “recognised by the Vatican”, while Lorraine has psychic abilities vital to ghost-hunting. So when they’re approached by a scared-looking Carolyn (Lili Taylor), they can’t just turn her away. It seems Carolyn, her truckdriver husband Roger (Ron Livingston) and their four daughters recently moved into an old house in Rhode Island, and of course the place is haunted by a dead witch who sacrificed her baby to Satan then hung herself. Four daughters means there’s a lot of strange things going on at once: one has a new imaginary friend who appears when you wind up a sinister music box; another sleepwalks into another girl’s bedroom and starts headbutting the sinister wardrobe there; another has something tugging at her leg when she sleeps … plus the bedrooms are full of amazingly bad smells … and Carolyn is always finding new bruises on herself … and all the clocks keep stopping at 3.07am. Phew. You have to take your hat off to a film where characters say things like, “And all this led you to believe the doll was possessed?” The Conjuring isn’t afraid to do just about anything – satanic sacrifices, creepy dolls, something under the bed – if it thinks it’ll put a scare in the audience. But while this stuff is undeniably effective, there’s just nothing new here. While all the individual scenes are well-handled by director James Wan (of Saw and Insidious fame), they’re just polished versions of old classics rather than anything original. This is clearly the work of professionals skilled in the art of spine-chilling; it’s just that there’s never any sense that they’re doing much more than moving around the same old elements one more time.

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Pacific Rim When the first giant monster – known as Kaiju – attacked San Francisco in 2013, it took most of the US military days to kill it. When another arrived months later, it became clear that regular weapons weren’t going to get the job done. Clearly it was time to build giant robots, so by the time our story begins in 2020, the giant robots (aka Jaegers) are so matter-of-fact they’re treated like giant walking coast guard units. Being so big and complex, a Jaeger needs two pilots connected by a memory-sharing mental link called “The Drift”. Not everyone can connect at this level. Together Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and his brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff) pilot the Gypsy Danger, stationed off the coast of Alaska. When things go wrong in what should have been a routine battle it’s the first sign of things going wrong across the board, and five years later the Jaegers are being phased out and Raleigh’s robot piloting days seem behind him. Then his former boss Pentecost (Idris Elba) makes him a deal: he’s gathered the remaining Jaegers, based them in Hong Kong, and they’re going to seal off the mid-Pacific dimensional rift the monsters are coming through.The appeal of all this is obvious – it’s giant robots fighting giant monsters – but in between the big fights much of the pleasure here comes from the smaller details. These giants are blundering through a fully developed world, and while we only get glimpses of it, it’s as well thought out as the numerous awe-inspiring fight scenes. All the characters are pushed up to eleven, which is exactly what the story demands – even the horrible Aussie accents work, because this is a world where everything is over the top (the Hong Kong Jaeger base is called The Shatterdome; the city has a region called The Bone Slums). But Del Toro puts in plenty of small moments to balance his pregnant monsters and oil tankers used as clubs; one giant robot punch through an office building stops just in time to give a Newton’s Cradle on someone’s desk enough of a tap to just send the balls swinging. Details like that make this more fun than any other city-destroying movie around.

The Heat: A moderately funny and fairly basic buddy cop movie, except for one thing: the cops are both women, which shouldn’t seem edgy or outlandish, until you look at just how few movies there are The Lone Ranger: One big starring women out at the moment. fun mess, this revival of the cornball western hero Much Ado About works more often than it Nothing: Joss Whedon doesn’t, and if that doesn’t filmed this Shakespeare sound like a ringing adaptation in his house endorsement … it’s not. with his friends over a Man of Steel: Superman’s back! And he’s wrecking up the place in this pummelheavy but occasionally moving take on both his origins and his ability to trash an entire city by accident.

fortnight or so. Based on that criterion, the end result is amazing. Based on whether it stands up as a movie you’re paying to see, it’s fun, enjoyable, entertaining, and lightweight.

his much younger lover (Matt Damon) is his most impressive and human film in years.

Monsters University: This sequel to Monsters, Inc. that no-one really asked for Behind The Candelabra: is perfectly serviceable Reportedly this will be as a college campus writer / director Steven comedy … which, Soderbergh’s final film. That’d be a shame: this considering it’s from take on the relationship Pixar, means it falls well below their previously between Liberace (Michael Douglas) and lofty standards.

MUSIC REVIEWS Bernard Fanning

Dead Letter Circus

Departures (Deluxe)

The Catalyst Fire

Dew Process

UNFD

The former frontman of Powderfinger has once again stepped away from his rock roots in his sophomore solo album, Departures. Gone this time are the folk sensibilities of his solo debut, Tea and Sympathy. Instead we have what could perhaps be best described as ‘adult contemporary’; that kind of generic sounding, inoffensive, not-quite-pop, not-quite-rock music that you hear playing in chain book shops and Starbucks. The few exceptions to this rule are the obvious future singles which have a certain level of rock to them, with strong guitar elements and heavy drumming. Opening track ‘Tell Me How It Ends’ and second track ‘Limbo Stick’ encapsulate the rock elements, as does the lead single, ‘Battleships’. The slow vocals of ‘Grow Around You’ leave you wanting to listen to Powderfinger classics, but combines Bernard Fanning’s signature, beautiful vocal with instrumentals that I can only really liken to Rob Thomas’ solo work. Which is a shame, because with a basic acoustic guitar and drum backing, ‘Grow Around You’ could have been an amazing Powderfinger track. ‘Drake’, with its guitar hook again, has shades of Powderfinger, but just doesn’t quite reach the heights of ‘Like A Dog’, which it most closely resembles. All in all, it has its highpoints, but they’re not quite enough to carry the album. Buy the singles, or skip it all together and buy Odyssey Number Five. By Cameron Brogden

The Catalyst Fire is the follow-up to Dead Letter Circus’ debut This Is The Warning, which peaked at #2, and still somehow took three years to go Gold. Such is the state of Australian rock music today. Well, according to the press release I got with this album, this is rock music. As far as I can see, the only way it’s classified as ‘rock’ is in the way that it doesn’t really fit into any other genre; but they play their own instruments, and those instruments include a guitar and drums. It’s like someone took Linkin Park and took away all the heavier, metal elements. This is definitely not a good thing, as the metal elements are the only thing that makes Linkin Park good. What we’re left with are guitar riffs that have too much “electric” and not enough “guitar”, high, whiny vocals and a generic drum sound. The vocals sound like any metal band’s clean vocals, in an ‘I still can’t really understand every second word you say, but at least you’re not screaming’ kind of way. There isn’t really a highlight on this album. I feel it needs louder drums, louder guitars, a screaming guy, and a set of balls. I probably wouldn’t buy it then either, but it would definitely sound better. By Cameron Brogden

You Am I

Sound As Ever

Hi Fi Way

Hourly, Daily

Sony

There’s a fine line between cash-grab and honouring a classic album. With The Living End’s Retrospective Tour last year, They Might Be Giants’ Groovin’ the Moo sideshows this year and Weezer’s recent tour, it seems to be a growing trend. Australian legends You Am I have jumped on this bandwagon, and to coincide with their tour, they have reissued their first three albums. In addition to the classics of the nineties, each album includes a bonus disc full of live material. Sound As Ever was You Am I’s first full-length album, produced by Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo after he saw the band perform at Big Day Out 1993. It was their first big break into the Australian market, and the first time they were ever heard of overseas. It won them an ARIA Award for Best Alternative Album, and got them signed to Ra Records, a subsidiary of rooART Records. As far as debuts go, Sound As Ever was a bit of a let-down on the charts, only breaking as high as sixty-one on the ARIA Charts. However, the quality of what was to become one of Australia’s most influential bands was clear to see. From the first single on the album, ‘Adam’s Rib, to the instant classic, ‘Berlin Chair’, to all the album tracks, the brilliance shines through. In fact, in 2009, sixteen years after the album was released, ‘Berlin Chair’ was voted into the triple j Hottest 100 of All Time. Worth buying for ‘Berlin Chair’ alone, but definitely worth listening to from end to end – over and over again. By Cameron Brogden

Ask anyone in the Australian music industry who grew up in the nineties, from rock stars to journalists, to producers and studio techs, to list their ten favourite albums, and I guarantee more than half of them will include this album in their list. Rock musicians the country over have been influenced by this album, from Jet to Wolfmother to The Vines. It is without doubt one of the greatest albums released in the history of Australian music. It was my first foray into the brilliance of You Am I. Released in 1995, Hi Fi Way hit number one on the ARIA Charts, and netted You Am I the ARIA for Best Alternative Album for the second time. In fact, since this reissue, the album has charted again, reaching 48. For the beginning You Am I fan, this is the album to buy. This is a band who has found who they are, and are producing the best music of their career. Every track on this album is brilliant. ‘Cathy’s Clown’ captures the scrappy, low-fi, hard rock sound that is You Am I’s signature, while ‘Purple Sneakers’ captures their quiet, introspective side. While those two are the obvious jewels in the crown, a special mention goes to the album closer, ‘How Much Is Enough’, which is more of the sound you hear in ‘Purple Sneakers’, which is probably my preferred side of You Am I. Fun fact: If you’re reading this on Sunday, there’s a chance that I’m at Splendour in the Grass listening to You Am I perform this very album. By Cameron Brogden

Finally, we have Hourly, Daily, the third of the trio of reissues and the last of You Am I’s truly brilliant albums (but definitely not the end of the band – their next album #4 Record is also great, as are the rest) in the trilogy that has defined the generation that followed. This album debuted at Number One, and scored six ARIAs (including Best Single for ‘Mr Milk’ and Best Video for ‘Soldiers’), and more or less guaranteeing a future spot in the Hall of Fame for the band, should they ever retire. There is a vague ‘course of the day’ theme to the album, beginning with ‘Good Morning’, and ending with ‘Who Takes Who Home’, which is about a night out (*the following hidden track, ‘Forget It Sister’, begins with “Good morning”). The sound is probably better produced than its predecessors. That low-fi feel is gone, and with it goes a little bit of the charm. However, Tim Rogers’ vocals and songwriting still shine through, and that You Am I sound is still there. The highlight is ‘Good Mornin’’, with its catchiness and a sound that a dozen other Australian bands tried to reproduce over the following couple of years, and couldn’t quite nail. ‘Mr Milk’ follows after, and is probably the next best track. Probably the weakest of the three albums, it still outshines the majority of albums released by Australian bands since. By Cameron Brogden

li Ve rev i e w

Victoriana Gaye

Ben Ottewell

Vitamin Records

The Barwon Club, Geelong Thursday, July 4 Without a doubt one of the most exciting shows I have seen in Geelong in recent times was Ben Ottewell of Gomez fame. Having not been to the Barwon Club since 2010, this guy was a welcome return to one of Geelong’s most loved venues. With support from Matt Walker, the venue was set up with a dining-esque experience, with tables and chairs adorning the dance floor of the venue. Arriving a few songs into Matt Walker’s set, the song that really captured my attention was the last track entitled ‘Just Add Wine’. When the moment arrived and Ben Ottewell took to the stage, I think it’s fair to say that everyone present in the room knew that this moment was never to be replicated again. Playing songs of both his solo released Shapes and Shadows as well as from Gomez’s back catalogue, there were a few songs that were hit and miss, requiring the full band rather than just the solo acoustic treatment. Combined with Ben’s quirky jokes about getting his guitar to stay in tune and that “it would be worth the wait”, highlights of the set included ‘How We Operate’ with open-tuned droning guitar, ‘78 Stone Wobble’, and a surprise cover of the Bill Wither’s classic ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’. Closing out the encore was the Gomez epic ‘Tijuana Lady’. If you weren’t there, you missed a damn fine show.

Holy Roll Holy Roll, the latest release for Surf Coast musicians Victoriana Gaye, is a folk-rock-pop affair that weaves gently along, reminding me strongly of a sleepy Sunday afternoon. From the opening track ‘Wild White Wine’, you are taken on a soft listening journey that echoes in music the coastal lifestyle that the pair lives on the Surf Coast. Having played gigs around the Bellarine Peninsula and Melbourne, Holy Roll is going to be launched at the Empress Hotel in Fitzroy on the 4th of August. The standout track for me on this record is ‘Wishing Well’; from the dream-esque and wistful soft acoustic guitars lines to the 70s horn arrangements. Although six minutes in length, the jazzy lo-fi relaxed melodies and vocals are what impress me. If you are after a relaxing listen that will cure your winter blues, check this disc out. By Tex Miller

By Tex Miller

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grogwatch If you’re reading this then chances are you like to laugh, whether at the actual material contained within this column or at the idea that someone actually spends time writing this drivel. Either way, it’s still a better option than most of the other local comedy sources currently on offer. For one thing, when exactly was it that Hamish & Andy died? Well, they’re not literally dead as far as I know, though I wouldn’t exactly be surprised to hear that one of their hilarious overseas stunts had ended with some shady character pulling a gun and both of the wacky funsters taking a dirt nap. Imagine the outpouring of grief that would follow – state funeral for both, numerous articles in the tabloids about “The Death of Comedy” (the ABC doesn’t count, obviously), Megan Gale thinking “if only I’d stuck around Andy a little longer, people would still know who I am”. Seriously, wasn’t he meant to be the lucky one going out with her? And yet, as soon as they broke up her media profile went to zero. How odd. No, I mean any sense of forward momentum in their comedy careers is stone cold motherless dead. Oh sure, Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year Asia was good solid stuff (and topped the ratings too). The guys are skilled professionals, they know what works with their loveable knockabout personas, and they’re doing a good job of spacing out their material so it doesn’t get too stale. Well, not if you actually watch other non-comedy television shows in between. It’s been a decade since I watched anything Australian that didn’t promise to make me bust a gut. So a lot of medical shows then, I hear you groan? Please, don’t be so obvious. Anyway, it’s not like I’m complaining about an Australian comedy show being the ratings hit of a Monday night, the biggest night (ratings-wise) of the week. It’s great news! It’s irrefutable proof that, given decent comedy, Australians will watch it. Hey guys, who’s excited for the debut of Slide Show on Seven? You know, the show with a set that’s on an angle or something – looks

THE FORTE

VOX

POP 50

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freakin’ hilarious. And don’t forget, the second series of Housos is coming soon to SBS. And the blanket of failure once again tucks itself in over the comedy landscape and quietly smothers it to death. But Hamish & Andy have been treading water creatively for so long now that it’s time to face facts, or at least my opinion that I’m presenting to you as a fact: they’re never going to be allowed to do anything different on commercial television. Why would they? This stuff they’re doing now is gold! Sure, it’s the same gold they’ve been serving up for the last few Gap Years (apart from that first talk show version that no-one mentions anymore but I kinda liked), but there’s clearly no reason this format can’t run and run. Well, apart from the fact they’re already doubling up on countries … India’s part of Asia, right? (Gets smacked in the face by a sign reading THE SUBCONTINENT.) Clearly as long as they space this stuff out there’s a fair few years left in the idea yet, unless one or the other of them suddenly turns into a fat sweaty businessman type, in which case their overseas jaunts will stop looking like young dudes having fun and more like old losers on a sexual tourism trip trying to stay one step ahead of the law. And it’s fun, lightweight television that plays to the guys’ considerable strengths. When you think about how many just as talented and funny guys in Australia never found a format that worked for them (cough Tony Martin and Mick Molloy cough), Gap Year is all the more impressive. But that age thing is a worry. Unlike Mick Molloy and Tony Martin (whose success with their radio show Martin / Molloy was the 90s version of Hamish & Andy’s hit radio show, ratings-wise at least), whose act was basically ageless (both of them are pretty much doing the same stuff now comedy wise that they ever did), H&A’s act requires them to be young dumb guys piss-farting about. So there’s a clear cut-off point there, and it’s getting closer every day. Plus the kind of ratings success they’re having really only leaves one direction to go, and it’s not up. Traditionally, being a massive hit with the general public is what happens to comedians right before

the public get completely sick of them. As Alan Cumming said in Josie & The Pussycats, (quoting Cypress Hill): “Save your money man. Save your money.” Okay, maybe he didn’t quote that exact line, but the point remains: this party is about to come to an end, and a few tiny side-projects aside (mostly Hamish acting), the madcap larrikins have no plan B. Maybe they don’t need one. Radio will always take them back, and unlike Tony Martin they don’t seem like guys who’d rock the boat too hard with management. But considering the stature ratings-wise they have in world of Australian television comedy, ducking over to the ABC to do some kind of scripted comedy would be doing us all a favour. And hey, bring Ryan Shelton with you. Whatever happened to that guy anyway? As for the other big comedy show of the moment, which would be Wednesday Night Fever – though I’m being pretty generous in my use of both the words “big” and “comedy”… who knew the ABC was going to target fans of impersonations that were basically someone saying, “hey guys, I’m Tony Abbott”. Not that the show’s relentless crudity, the simplistic sketches, the lack of insight displayed in the impressions actually are mistakes or anything. Maybe with the first episode you might have turned off the television thinking, “well, I just watched a show made by people who thought the line ‘Downton Abbott’ was funny enough to base not just a whole entire sketch, but an entire running series of sketches on”, but by now they’ve made it clear that … okay, yes, that is pretty much the level we’re working on. But at least they’ve cut out all the swearing! Which with every passing week seems more and more like a massive mistake, because while the swearing wasn’t funny, at least it was an attempt to make people laugh. Without the swearing all that’s left is a lot of people looking into the camera with an expression that says they’re not quite sure what they’re meant to be doing. It would be lazy criticism to attack this show for being broad or old-fashioned. In a lot of ways it is; but that’s a clear stylistic decision made by the creators who’ve set out to make a show that harks back to the “golden age” of Australian comedy. You can dislike the show for that – we don’t, feel free to disagree – but it’s not a failing of the show itself. It’d be like complaining that Who Wants to be a Millionaire isn’t more like Deal or No Deal. I’m guessing I’m going to be pretty much alone there, mind you. Much as comedy fans like to hail the late 80s as a golden age, there are just as many people (if not more) who consider comparing a show to Fast Forward to be a fatal insult.

The thing that’s easy to forget looking backwards at the comedy boom from today is that those comedians were largely trying to adapt comedy skills they’d honed elsewhere to the needs of television. They were already funny – they just had to figure out the best way to be funny on television. Obviously some formats have a better track run than others, and if you’re doing sketches it’s a really big help to have a format where you don’t have to end every sketch on a strong punchline. But it’s telling that all the really great and successful comedy shows on Australian television – your Micallef P(r)ogram(me) s, your Frontlines, even at a pinch your Summer Heights Highs – have come about when talented people have been able to shape the format to whatever suits their particular comedy talents the best. Yes, feel free to insert your own joke here about “comedy talent”. Wednesday Night Fever isn’t looking backwards to create something new. This is a show where the jokes, such as they are, are meant to come entirely from recognition rather than surprise. Fun fact: the now probably regular “Margaret and David” sketches where the movie reviewers bitch at each other while reviewing things that aren’t movies – hilarious – are a hold-over from Double Take, a sketch show made for Channel Seven a few years ago by the same production company. That’s right: they’ve revived a running gag from a show no-one watched and which was axed after one series. Gee, thanks guys. You couldn’t have spent the last few years, you know, maybe coming up with some new ideas?! But that’s not the point. This is a show trying to recapture the past without bothering to try and understand why those old, crappy looking shows were actually funny. Presumably someone at the ABC looked at Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell and The Chaser’s Hamster Wheel and thought, “well, it looks like we’ve got the market for quality political commentary all sewn up – time to move into the market for the stuff with absolutely nothing to say and no idea how to say it”. Tony “I’ll be over here watching old episodes of Hey Hey it’s Saturday” Montana

QUESTION:

What is your favourite food to eat while on tour?

Jeff Raglus

Howlin Wind

Imogen Brough

Sam Bentley

(Victoriana Gaye)

(Howlin Wind)

(Local Legend)

(The Paper Kites)

Vegetarian, something healthy otherwise you get sick

A Good souvlaki from any Melbourne shop in the Greek Quarter

Something light pre-performance

A nice hamburger, doesn’t go astray :)

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