Forte #552

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pete murray

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FOCUS: social media & music

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

steve mini [nitro circus]

pako festa feature

issue 552 // 7 FEB 2013 // next issue: 21 FEB

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A WORD FROM THE TEAM

FORTE mag is published by FORTE PUBLISHING p/l abn 64 054 589 641 pHONE: 03 5229 7969 fAX: 03 5229 0318 po box 1388 GEELONG VICTORIA 3220

PUBLISHER...........................Anton Ballard

Dearest Readers,

general..............................enquiries@fortemag.com.au

It’s a tad ironic that we are coming off the back of an issue that celebrated all things Australian, and lead into one that celebrates all things culturally diverse. Or maybe it’s not that ironic...Perhaps it shows that one of the greatest things about being Australian is our willingness to celebrate our country’s multiculturalism.

EDITOR/SALES MANAGER....Luke McNamara

luke@fortemag.com.au

In the last couple of weeks many of us enjoyed a sausage sizzle and a VB or two in celebration of ‘Straya Day, ‘Straya Culture and all the unique ‘Straya quirks - like the fact that we can call it ‘Straya. Oh, and the obscurity of having a $1 coin that’s twice as big, but half the value of its $2 friend. But this issue we talk about the beauty of Australian multiculturalism and the ways in which it strengthens our communities.

COVER DESIGN.....................James Dulce PRODUCTION........................James Dulce

David DiCristoforo SCENE PHOTOGRAPHER.......Sarah Gross

Goodbye, Farewell, Sayonara, Adios, Elalleqa, Ahoj, Bis dann, Ciao, Au Revoir, Farvel, Adeus, Until next time.

Forte

FRIDAY 8TH FEBRUARY

THURSDAY 21ST FEBRUARY

2 SETS

(FRANCE/GERMANY) FEAT BRIAN HOOPER (BEAST OF BOURBON) MIKE NOGA (THE DRONES)

PAUL GREENE & THE OTHER COLOURS

DIMI DERO & TEX NAPALM

8:30PM $12

CARTER ROLLINS 8:30PM $15

THURSDAY 14TH FEBRUARY

S JOHNSTONE

FASSBENDER + MORE 8:30PM FREE

FRIDAY 15TH FEBRUARY

FRIDAY 22ND FEBRUARY

MANI NEUMEIER

KRIS WONDERS THE PAUL KIDNEY EXPERIENCE FASPEEDELAY 8:30PM $10

SATURDAY 2ND MARCH

LLOYD SPIEGEL

FOURTEEN NIGHTS AT SEA

8:30PM $15

8:30PM $8

2 SETS

SATURDAY 16TH FEBRUARY

BROTHERS GRIM & THE BLUE MURDERS 8:30PM

TUESDAY 19TH FEBRUARY

COVES

FRIDAY 15TH FEBRUARY

D. D DUMBO

JORDAN IRELAND 8:30PM $16

SATURDAY 16TH FEBRUARY

TUESDAY NIGHT TRIVIA

DENIZ TEK (RADIO BIRDMAN)

7:30PM FREE

8:30PM $16

HOSTED BY LIFON URANUS

LEADFINGER

FOLLOW US AT WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/THEBRIDGECASTLEMAINE

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Marc Wilkins marc@thegeelongtimes.com.au

ADVERTISERS AND AGENTS ARE ADVISED THAT ALL ADVERTISING COPY IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY UNDER THE TRADE PRACTICES ACT. ADVERTISEMENTS ARE PUBLISHED IN GOOD FAITH AND ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CONTENT IS LEGITIMATE AND LAWFUL. ADVERTISERS AND OR AGENTS SUBMIT ADVERTISEMENTS AT THEIR OWN RISK. THE EDITOR AND CREATORS HOLD NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR THE CONTENT OF THE MAGAZINE IN THE CASE THAT IT MAY OFFEND. FORTE ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. FORTE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT ALL ARTICLES AND LETTERS.

Also ahead we chat with soul sister Mama Kin, the controversially crazy and questionable Kansas City Faggots, Blues Train extraordinairre Hugo T Armstrong and stacks more. So go ahead, enjoy and we see you all next issue.

SATURDAY 9TH FEBRUARY

Bec McIntyre bec@fortemag.com.au

PRINTED BY.........................

RURAL PRESS PRINTING (VIC) BALLARAT 30-32 Grandlee Drive, Wendouree

And did we mention it is free? We all love a freebie.

8:30PM $10

CONTRIBUTORS...................

Anthony Morris, Adem Ali, Ben Schultz, Chris Cruz, Chris Lambie, Cyclone, Daniel Meagher, Lucas Skinner, Natalie Rogers, Nekita Roberts, Nina Bertok, Ophelia Symons, Paul S Taylor, Phil Hickey, Renee Abbott, Sam Eckhardt, Sam Fell, Stephanie Zevenbergen, Tex Miller, Wylie Caird, and Tony Montana

Pako Festa is Australia’s biggest free celebration of multiculturalism. And we’ve owned it for 30 years. Lead by Diversitat, on the 24th of February thousands of people of all different races and ethnicities will come together to celebrate their different cultures. Together being the key word.

Be sure to get down there and help celebrate organic culture in its best form. United!

THE ZAPOROZHETS

April Grenfell

ADVERTISING ......................Anton Ballard

aballard@fortemag.com.au

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the HIGHLIGHTS

THE LATEST ON international & national news & tours Long Live King Kong

The Highlights: We don’t need no education. Coming up you have… .........................................................................

Happy Days for Happy Mondays “I saw the Happy Mondays on TV, and they reminded me of the Beatles in their ‘Strawberry Fields’ phase.”

One Paul McCartney said that about Happy Mondays back in late 1990, a decade after the band was formed.

The band produced some of the major dance tunes of the early 1990s and although they have had a stuttered music life, they continue to attract new fans each time they start another round. The Palace - May 5. .........................................................................

Opeth March On In 1990 a new force entered the world of metal by the name of Opeth. While the years since have seen members come and go, Mikael Akerfeldt has continued to rule supreme. The band released their latest album, Heritage, in 2011 but signs point to something new this year. Roadrunner Records posted a video with the description ‘Something’s Coming...’ so either it’s new tunes or an apocalypse. The Palace - March 14. .........................................................................

PBS Drive Live PBS Drive Live has been moving along at cruise control since the beginning of the week. Now, the week wraps up tomorrow (Friday Feb 8) so you had best be quick if you want to be part of the merriment.

PBS members get dibs - so if you aren’t one, you should think about becoming one - but anyone is still welcome. Great music will be matched by top-notch food, a cold drink and fine company. Hit pbsfm.org. au for full details. .........................................................................

You Can Call Me Paul Simon I’m going to Rod Laver Arena doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as I’m going to Graceland but who cares? Paul Simon is one of the big draw cards of this year’s Bluesfest but he has also tagged on additional dates around the country. In 2011 the songman released his twelfth studio album So Beautiful or So What but it is 1986’s Graceland that continues to shine brightest. Rod Laver Arena - March 28.

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The much-hyped production of King Kong makes its way to Melbourne later this year and tickets are currently available at varying prices. The multimillion dollar production combines traditional puppetry, animatronics, circus skills, choreography and a fantastic musical score as it tells one of the most enduring love stories of our time. Preview performances start May 28.

Full details are available through kingkongliveonstage.com. .........................................................................

Iggy and The Stooges Prepare Iggy and The Stooges have wrapped up work on their new album Ready to Die, their first since 2007’s The Weirdness. Ed Cherney, the man responsible for mixing the album, says the album is “old-time Stooges. It’s raw. They’re great songs, but not necessarily big choruses. They’re the Antichrist of anthems.” He goes on to say, “He [Iggy] knows what he wants to say. He’s watching the world around him.” .........................................................................

The xx Strikes Gold

Chris Isaak and Beyond

Few bands have been embraced so lovingly in Australia in recent times as English indiepoppers The xx. Born in 2008 the band released their debut xx in 2009 and won the Mercury Music Prize for their effort. Tough gig to follow but their sophomore album Coexist has managed to find even more love. It has even gone Gold in Australia and we can be a fickle lot. Festival Hall - April 4 (sold-out) & April 5.

Part crooner, part retro-rocker and all round charmer Chris Isaak will be in Oz shortly for Bluesfest but has tagged on a few additional dates around the country. He is a popular man in Australia. He has toured several times and in the lead-up to this year’s run of shows he shares this: “Australian audiences are the best!

I think I have a show they are gonna dig!” Isaak favourites will be mixed with early rock n roll classics. Myer Music Bowl - March 26.

Come Join the Bloc Party Future Music guests Bloc Party have been kind enough to add a few headliner dates around the country where you can party along with a few thousand of your closest mates. And let’s face it, at concerts everyone is your mate. The UK indie pin-ups released their appropriately titled fourth album, Four, last year so you have some new stuff and some old stuff to look forward to. Where is the party? Festival Hall - March 14. .........................................................................

The Apology - Five Years On

It’s a Good Life

During an IAmA chat on social networking site Reddit, Icelandic favourites Sigur Rós announced that they would be releasing a new album in 2013. Fans were able to ask the band questions and when the inevitable ‘when can we expect to hear new material’ question came up, the band responded by saying “This year.

We are writing these answers from the studio in Los Angeles right now!” For a taste of the album, the band has released a teaser of ‘Brennisteinn’, a song which they debuted live last year.

Josh Baskin is not the only one who has wished he was big. Sure, that reference would probably be lost on the majority this blurb is aimed for but I will soldier on. We have all wanted to be older at some point and when it comes to music it is no exception. Enter the Good Life Festival, a festival for the Under 18 crowd. Psy, Dizzee Rascal, Steve Aoki, Rita Ora, Stafford Brothers and Havana Brown are all on board.

Flemington Racecourse - March 8.

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On February 13, 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made history by apologising to the Stolen Generations. On February 13, 2013, it will mark five years since the apology was made. To mark the occasion a concert will take place on the lawns of Federation Mall, Parliament House. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians including Microwave Jenny, The Last Kinection and Black Arm Band will perform. The Apology - Five Years On - Heal our Past, Build our Future will run from 5.30pm to 10pm.

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New Sigur Rós On The Way

The Handwritten Gaslight Anthem In a handful of years New Jersey-born punk band The Gaslight Anthem have earned a reputation as one of the finest of their craft. The band has released four albums, kicking off with 2007’s debut Sink or Swim. They released their latest, Handwritten, last year. The album was produced by Brendan O’Brien, whose vast credits include Pearl Jam, a favourite of founding member and vocalist Brian Fallon. The Palace - May 15.

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The Justin Timberlake Experience Last month the internet was buzzing with the news that Justin Timberlake - JT to the hip crowd - was preparing some new tunes. ‘Suit & Tie’ was then delivered to the world. Now my furry friends, it looks like his new album The 20/20 Experience will be released in March. At the time of writing not a great deal was known about the album other than it is being produced by Timbaland. He is also working with Beyonce on her new album.

TM

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THE

FORT-NIGHTLY CALENDAR & GIG GUIDE

ruby boots thursday feb 7 at beav's bar, geelongE

Thursday February 7 THE BARWON CLUB: Warped with BMX-Ray & Townhall $12, doors open from 7.30pm ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Drink promos & Giant Meat Raffle from 5pm till 8pm BLACK HATT: Tradies Night in the Bar from 5pm till 7pm, Open Mic from 7pm with acoustic, bands, solos & duets THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 THE MAX HOTEL: Parmi Night $12, InnQUIZitive Trivia from 7.30pm till 10.30pm, amazing prizes, call to book your team’s spot THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays BEAV’S BAR: Ruby Boots & Dave Anderson ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: Jay Hoad, tickets $10 EUREKA HOTEL: DJs & drink specials

Friday February 8 THE BARWON CLUB: Resonance with The Greeting Method, tickets $8 from 9pm YARRA HOTEL GEELONG: Revoltuion Fridays with original bands and djs from 9pm including The Deep End and Dukes of Deliciousness BRIDGE HOTEL: The Zaporozhets, 2 sets from 8.30pm. Tickets $10 (Castlemaine) THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Fig Jam SPHINX HOTEL: Fistful of Steel HARVESTER MOON: Rory McLeod (UK) (Bellarine) WHITE EAGLE HOUSE: Pool Tournament

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ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) CITY QUARTER BAR: Tom & Tayla EDGE BAR GEELONG: Levi & Cody GEELONG NIGHT MARKET: Live music from Farquarson, The Violent Ivy’s, Victoriana Gaye and more. All your favourite food stalls & art installations on display. Held at Johnstone Park from 5.30pm - 10pm ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday BLACK HATT: Drink promos from 5pm till 7pm (free entry) Double Vision performing live BAR PIZZA: DJ Merv & Drink Promos LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live bands & DJs open from 5pm THE MAX HOTEL: Three On The Tree THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays BEAV’S BAR: Ross O’Connell CUDA BAR: DJ T-Dub from 9.30pm (Lorne) ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: Sam Fletcher HOME HOUSE NIGHTCLUB: Djs & drink promos

Saturday February 9 THE BARWON CLUB: Idle Minds with AIDS, The Kremlings and Goon Soaked Rag, tickets $8 from 8pm EUREKA HOTEL: Van She live show with support from Matt Black, Simone-One, TVB, Shorty J, MCK, Some Deckheads, Vickers & more. Entry $15 or presale $10 from the venue.

YARRA HOTEL GEELONG: Pop Saturdays with Brendan Walker, Frazer Adnem, Stevie Mink & Torren Foot THE WOOL EXCHANGE: Ash Grunwald.

Tickets $25+bf, doors open from 8pm

WERRIBEE OPEN RANGE ZOO: Rhythm of Africa Summer Concert Series featuring Soukous Ba Congo from 4.30pm onwards (Cost included in general admission) CENTRAL GEELONG FARMERS MARKET: Held the second Saturday of each month, please visit www.centralgeelong.com.au for more information. Lt Malop St, Geelong.

WHITE EAGLE HOUSE: Backbone ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) MYNT LOUNGE: Boombox Saturdays featuring Will Sparks (Werribee) KAROVA LOUNGE: Aurora Jane. Doors from 8.30pm, tickets $10 (Ballarat) BRIDGE HOTEL: Paul Greene, $15 entry with support from Carter Rolins, doors from 8.30pm (Castlemaine) CITY QUARTER BAR: Marcus Hayden DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: John Braka EDGE BAR GEELONG: Matt & Grant THE BLUES TRAIN: Lloyd Spiegel Duo, Brian Fraser, Sweet Felicia & the Honeytones, Collard Greens & Gravy. Train leaves from the Queenscliff fRailway Station at 6.30pm (Queenscliff) LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live bands & DJs open from 9pm THE MAX HOTEL: Adventure Playground THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays BEAV’S BAR: Nick Tabone CUDA BAR: Future Music Festival Warm Up Party featuring DJ James Fava with supports from 9.30pm (Lorne) ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: James Sidebottom HOME HOUSE NIGHTCLUB: Courtney Mills VS Tom Evans with Surrender downstairs

Sunday February 10

THE BARWON CLUB: Luke Legs from 4pm till 7pm, Test Pilot Molly from 8pm WERRIBEE OPEN RANGE ZOO: Rhythm of Africa Summer Concert Series featuring One Africa from 4.30pm onwards (Cost included in general admission) ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) EDGE BAR GEELONG: Jay & Mick plus Marcus Hayden GOSLING CREEK WINERY: Tiger Trail Fundraiser with Victoriana Gaye and The Cartridge Family (Murroon) SEBROSO: Sunday Session with Cuban Salsa Dancing, DJ Schmickey & Paella from the Pan BLACK HATT: Wonderland Sundays from 6pm, $10 cover charge with entertainment from Corey Ryan, Baby Goggles & more ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: Cameron Oates HOME HOUSE NIGHTCLUB: Djs & drink promos

Monday February 11 ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11

Tuesday February 12 ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night THE SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11, Poker Night (free) GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 PETER LALOR: Trivia Tuesdays from 7.30pm with weekly cash jackpot (Ballarat)

Wednesday February 13 ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: Wednesday Night Wheel from 7pm, cash & prizes up for grabs!

ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8.30pm till 10.30pm THE SPHINX HOTEL: Steak Night from $16, Poker Night ($10 buy in) GEELONG RSL: Parma & Pot Night $13 BEAV’S BAR: Karaoke, Open Mic night with Dave Anderson PETER LALOR HOTEL: Stevie K’s Dusting off the Vinyl Retro Vinyl Party from 8pm (Ballarat)

Thursday February 14

ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) MYNT LOUNGE: Mynt Thursdays with This Is Not My Batman Cup! (Werribee) THE BARWON CLUB: Tim Rogers $25+bf or $30 on the door CITY QUARTER BAR: Unplugged Competition featuring 5 acts per night, three judges, 2 winners progress to next round, huge prizes up for grabs for contestants. Held from 7pm till 10pm ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Drink promos & Giant Meat Raffle from 5pm till 8pm BLACK HATT: Tradies Night in the Bar from 5pm till 7pm, Open Mic from 7pm with acoustic, bands, solos & duets THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 THE MAX HOTEL: Parmi Night $12, InnQUIZitive Trivia from 7.30pm till 10.30pm, amazing prizes, call to book your team’s spot THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays

ATT: FORTE READERS! we want to know what your up to so you can be included in the fortnightly calendar! please send the details of your event to bec@fortemag.com.au please provide your gig info at least one week prior to the event to guarantee your inclusion in the calendar.

BEAV’S BAR: Andy Forster BRIDGE HOTEL: S Johnstone, Fassbender & more from 8.30pm, free entry (Castlemaine) EUREKA HOTEL: DJs & drink specials

Friday February 15 YARRA HOTEL GEELONG: Revoltuion Fridays with original bands and djs from 9pm including Lamarama, Watson & Watson, City Wolves & DJ Indie Janglo SPHINX HOTEL: Traffic Jam BALLARAT BEAT ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL: Featuring Omar, The Desperados, The Continentals, Men Into Space, Atomic Hightones plus many more.

Visit www.ballaratbeat.com.au for more info PIPING HOT CHICKEN SHOP: The Junes (Ocean Grove) WHITE EAGLE HOUSE: Boona Band ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) BRIDGE HOTEL: Lloyd Spiegel, 2 sets, $15 entry. Doors open at 8.30pm (Castlemaine) CITY QUARTER BAR: Matt & Mick EDGE BAR GEELONG: Matt & Grant GEELONG NIGHT MARKET: Live music from Farquarson, The Violent Ivy’s, Victoriana Gaye and more. All your favourite food stalls & art installations on display. Held at Johnstone Park from 5.30pm - 10pm ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday BLACK HATT: Drink promos from 5pm till 7pm (free entry) The Bite performing BAR PIZZA: DJ Merv & Drink Promos LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live bands & DJs open from 5pm THE MAX HOTEL: Flavour Fridays, win $250 cash with Adventurous Twister, hosted by Dixie DQ & DJ Paul Watson from 8pm till 1am, free entry plus Hey Charger performing live THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays THE LOFT: Timber & Steel presents Little Wise on the Ride Now Tour. Support by Melva & Salvador, doors from 9.30pm, entry $5 (Warrnambool) BEAV’S BAR: Steve Pianto ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: Jimmy Graham HOME HOUSE NIGHTCLUB: Djs & drink promos GROVEDALE HOTEL: 80’S R Us

van she

luke legs

saturday feb 9 at the eureka hotel, geelong

sunday feb 9 at the barwon club , geelong

Presented by Cattleyard Promotions and supported by triple j & Channel [V]

FEATURING IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Saturday February 16 THE WOOL EXCHANGE: Pete Murray.

Tickets $35+bf, doors open 8pm.

GEELONG RSL: Rubber Soul - The Beatles Show. Mela & show tickets $45 from 7pm, show only $20 from 8.30pm BALLARAT BEAT ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL: Featuring Omar, The Desperados, The Continentals, Men Into Space, Atomic Hightones plus many more.

Visit www.ballaratbeat.com.au for more info WERRIBEE OPEN RANGE ZOO: Rhythm of Africa Summer Concert Series featuring Lamine Sonko & the African Intelligence from 4.30pm onwards (Cost included in general admission) PUBLIC INN: Regional Winemakers Dinner featuring Bress Winery. Tickets $120 pp from 7pm, degustation course with matching beverages included. (Castlemaine) WHITE EAGLE HOUSE: Ben Costanzo ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) MYNT LOUNGE: Boombox Saturday with Zoolanda (Werribee) THE BARWON CLUB: The Human Electric with Nathan Seeckts & Ikaraii, doors from 8pm tickets $10 BRIDGE HOTEL: Brothers Grimm and The Blue Murders from 8.30pm (Castlemaine) DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: Tom & Tayla EDGE BAR GEELONG: Tom & Tayla THE BLUES TRAIN: Blue Eyes Cry, Jonno Zilber, The Shane Pacey Blues Trio & Wayne Jury. Train leaves from the Queenscliff fRailway Station at 6.30pm. (Queenscliff) LAMBY’S BAR & RESTAURANT: Live bands & DJs open from 9pm THE LORD NELSON: Live music Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays MAC’S HOTEL BENTINCK: Timber & Steel presents Little Wise on the Ride Now Tour. Support from Megan Bernard, from 9.30pm (Portland) BEAV’S BAR: Abe Anderson

PLUS TRIPLE J UNEARTHED AND LOCAL ACTS

PRINCE OF WALES SHOWGROUND, BENDIGO VIC TICKETS ON SALE NOW $99.90 + BF GATES OPEN AT 10.30AM

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pete murray saturday feb 16 at the wool exchange, geelong CUDA BAR: Lucy Thorne from 7.30pm (Lorne) ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: Matt Biscombe EUREKA HOTEL: Love That Music present the launch of Chinese Whispers - coming to you weekly as of February 16. Entertainment from Tenzin, Reece Low, James Fava, Matt Black, Isaac Fryar, Simon One, TVB & more HOME HOUSE NIGHTCLUB: She Can Dj Remix Tour with Girl Audio & Minx

Sunday February 17 BALLARAT BEAT ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL: Featuring Omar, The Desperados, The Continentals, Men Into Space, Atomic Hightones plus many more. Visit www. ballaratbeat.com.au for more info WERRIBEE OPEN RANGE ZOO: Rhythm of Africa Summer Concert Series featuring Kinshasa Express from 4.30pm onwards (Cost included in general admission) BEAV’S BAR: Wes Carr performing live with Buffalo ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) EDGE BAR GEELONG: Good Faces 4 Radio & Jesse Reid CAFE BOTTICELLI - Free gig from 1pm featuring Wayne Jury & Rory Millar WOLSELEY WINERY: Victoriana Gaye & Lucie Thorn from 4pm, tickets $10 SEBROSO: Sunday Session with Cuban Salsa Dancing, DJ Schmickey & Paella from the Pan THE BARWON CLUB: Luke Legs from 4pm till 7pm, Good Faces For Radio from 8pm TORQUAY HOTEL: Donovan Frankenreiter live from 6.30PM FREE ENTRY ODYSSEY TAVERN & BREWERY: Luke Pote HOME HOUSE NIGHTCLUB: Djs & drink promos

VENUEGUIDE!

THE EUREKA

THE BARKING DOG

THE gateway HOTEL

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126 Pakington St. Geelong West

218-230 Princess Hwy. Corio

BARWON CLUB

THE GROVEDALE HOTEL

509 Moorabool St. South Geelong

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BARWON HEADS HOTEL

ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11

Tuesday February 19 ART @ WINTERGARDEN: Wayne Miller exhibition (Anglesea) ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night THE SPHINX HOTEL: 11 Meals for $11, Poker Night (free) GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 PETER LALOR: Trivia Tuesdays from 7.30pm with weekly cash jackpot (Ballarat) BRIDGE HOTEL: Tuesday Night Trivia hosted by Lifon Uranus from 7.30pm, free (Castlemaine)

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236-258 Surfcoast Highway

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GROWLERS

1 Bridge Rd. Barwon Heads

23 The Esplanade.

Torquay

THE BASEMENT 159

HOME HOUSE

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159 Moorabool St. Geelong

40-42 Moorabool St. Geelong

BEAVS BAR

IRISH MURPHY'S

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77 Little Malop St. Geelong

30 Aberdeen St. Geelong

THE BENDED ELBOW BALLARAT

JACK AND JILL

120 Lydiard St (North). Ballarat

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THE BENDED ELBOW GEELONG

247 Moorabool St. Geelong

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LAMBYS

Cnr of Moorabool & Brougham St. Geelong

69 Yarra St. Geelong

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black hatt

2 Gheringhap St. Geelong

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THE MAX

54 Little Myers St. Geelong

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THE BLUESTONE

11 Malop St. Geelong

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MR. HYDE

103 Marr St. Ballarat

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Bridge hotel castlemaine

191 Moorabool St. Geelong

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THE NATIONAL HOTEL

21 Walker St. Castlemain

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CITY QUARTER

Cunningham Pier, Geelong

611 Surfcoast Hwy. Mount Duneed

CLOUD 9

OPIUM BAR

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odyssey

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96 Pakington St. Geelong West

15 James St. Geelong

Club TITANIUM

331 Mair St. Ballarat

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Peter Lalor Hotel

99 Ryrie St, Geelong

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eastern station

5 James St. Geelong

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Monday February 18

98 Little Malop St. Geelong

RUMORS

81 Humffray St Nth. Ballarat

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THE EDGE

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SLATE Pool Lounge

50 Little Ryrie St. Geelong

1/6-8 Eastern Beach Rd. Geelong

THE SPHINX

ELEPHANT AND CASTLE

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158 McKillop St. Geelong

2 Thompson Rd. North Geelong

TOAST

114 Moorabool St. Geelong

Wednesday February 20 PUBLIC INN: Storytelling for Grown Ups - Castlemaine community gathers to listen to tales of the unknown and unbelievable.

Tickets $39 pp includes nibbles and aperitif on arrival and 2 savoury course from 6.30pm call to book: 03 5472 3568 (Castlemaine) DIGGERS ARMS HOTEL: Wednesday Night Wheel from 7pm, cash & prizes up for grabs!

ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8.30pm till 10.30pm THE SPHINX HOTEL: Steak Night from $16, Poker Night ($10 buy in) GEELONG RSL: Parma & Pot Night $13 BEAV’S BAR: Open Mic Night with Andy Forster live

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19

FLIX IN THE STIX

By Cameron Brogden

Flix in the Stix is a short film festival that tours regional cities, but add some music and comedy to the mix and you will find that there is something for everyone.

This year they’ve expanded beyond the borders of New South Wales to add Queensland and Victoria to their range, and that means they’ll be rolling up to Ballarat and Bendigo this March. I spoke to Simon Rollin [a festival manager] about the night’s entertainment.

“We’ve been running Flix in the Stix in one way, shape or form for four years now, and this will be our fifth year of the tour,” he explained. “It’s really just evolved over the years. we started off at Parkes, at the Elvis Festival, showing Elvis movies, and we’ve just adapted to patron feedback over the years, to incorporate music, to move to a short film format, we’ve got comedy now as well. So we’ve really moved it to a really unique mix of entertainment,

and our audience seem to be responding, and really enjoying that mix.”

As far as the management of the festival is concerned, venturing into regional Victoria was inevitable. “It’s always been on the radar. It’s an event that we put together that is purely targeted at regional Australians,” explains Simon. “2013 seemed to be the right time to introduce it down there, and Ballarat and Bendigo seemed to be the two places that, from our research, would really adopt and support something like what Flix is.”

In order to select the films that would be played this year, Flix management have chosen a guest curator, Australian film maker Nash Edgerton. Simon spoke very highly of Nash. “Nash was invited to be guest curator, his short film ‘Bear’ won the 2012 audience vote, and it seemed like a logical choice of film-maker to invite to play that role for us.” As for which films Nash has chosen, Simon intends to keep specifics under wraps until the festival takes off. “I can tell you a little bit about them without giving too much away.”

“He selected a range of films, his favourite short films over the years, they’re films from Australia, and a few from overseas, and they are quite an eclectic mix.

Some of them will have you rolling around in fits of

laughter, while there’s a short film that’s actually a bit of a thriller, it’s only two and a half minutes long. So it’s a unique mix and it’ll take the audience on a bit of a journey through Nash’s mind,” Simon explains.

The musical guest this year is one of Australia’s best loved bands, The Whitlams, and Flix management could not be happier to have them involved. “It’s great. The Whitlams have taken to the concept really well, it’s unique for them to be supporting short films in a way, and you’ve got short films supporting The Whitlams. They love the concept, and it’s another way to bring some of their great music to regional Australia in a whole new light. We’re really excited to have them on board.”

And the music doesn’t stop there, in each town Flix in the Stix are allowing the locals to select one of their own to open for The Whitlams. Simon explained: “We’re running a little Flix in the Stix Band Comp, where we just give a local band the opportunity to rub shoulders with The Whitlams, to open the stage for them. I guess for any up and coming band, that sort of an opportunity would be hard to pass up, and it’s just a way that we can give a little bit back to the local communities we come to, and give them an opportunity to really own the event and make it truly unique to their location. We’ve got a couple of bands already registered for the Band Comp, and then we throw it over to the people to vote for who they’d like to see perform.”

The laughs will be provided by celebrated Bush Poet Murray Hartin, but don’t let the poetry frighten you. “[Poetry]’s one of those words which we knew ourselves would scare people, but you have to take my word for it, Murray is a self-confessed Aussie larrikin, and he has a unique way to use words to tell a yarn. And the reason Murray’s touring with us again this year is; he was by far and away an absolute hit on the 2012 tour. There was a little bit of scepticism about what bush poetry actually meant, but this guy will really open the lid on what it is, and what it can be, and he truly is a bit of a larrikin, and can tell a yarn in a very funny and unique way.”

So get down to Ballarat or Bendigo this March and check out this wonderfully different film festival, but before you do, hit up their Facebook page and vote for a local band, Ballarat’s voting closes on February 10, and Bendigo’s voting runs from February 1117. Tickets to Flix in the Stix are available through Ticketek.

When&Where: March 9 - Fairylands, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat & March 10 - Big Hill Winery, Bendigo

Live Music Thursday, Friday & all day Sunday Edge Geelong

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Ph: (03) 5222 2666 | edgegeelong.com.au | enquiries@edgegeelong.com.au | 6–8 Eastern Beach Rd, Geelong, Victoria, 3220 20

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21

The ReChords

By Rebecca McIntyre

Whilst waiting in suspence of their upcoming performance at the 1st Annual Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival, Forte caught up with one of the main attractions, The ReChords, for a chat about where all this foot stompin’ retro hillbilly style is coming from and why people can’t get enough of it.

The ReChords’ music has been described as early harmonious hillbilly, bluegrass, western swing, rockabilly and rockin’ rhythm and blues.

That’s a hell of’ a’ lot of genres. How would you describe the music of The ReChords to those who haven’t listened to it? Yeah, it’s really a mouthful, so I guess the best way we describe it now is simply...

‘Americana’ , that way it covers all of that ‘roots’ based music. We take all of those influences and create our own tunes with the heart & soul of the past but mix it with our own experiences of today’s current situations.

Your 2009 debut album On The Wagon featured 9 originals and 6 covers. Who are some of your biggest musical influences? And do you aim to play covers in their original form or mix it up to suit the style of the ReChords? Yep, ON THE WAGON was our first album, although we did release a split CD through Presstone Records prior to that earlier in 2009 with a Perth band called the Salt Flat Trio which was our guitarist Felix’s old band. I guess in the early part of our career (just 3 years ago really) we were heavily inspired by guys like Ernst Tubb, Stanley Brothers, Louvin Brothers, Hank Williams and whole bunch of those Country, Bluegrass & Western Swing

Tomahawk

By Natalie Rogers

I love this time of year – festival time! When all my favourite bands come to town and are keen to chat. I caught up with lead guitarist of Tomahawk, Duane Denison, who kindly explained the science behind playing in a rock band: “Any time you get a group of four blokes together and stick them in a can and shake it, and add alcohol and other things, it can be volatile and it doesn’t matter if it’s a rugby team or a rock band, you have to expect a certain amount of friction. You can’t get heat without the friction, baby!”

If you haven’t heard of Tomahawk yet, no doubt you’ll be familiar with the current line-up: Mike Patton of Faith No More, Fantômas, Mr. Bungle and Mondo Cane; Duane Denison of The Jesus Lizard; John Stanier of Battles, The Mark of Cain and Helmet; and their newest member Trevor Dunn, also of Fantômas and Mr. Bungle. All together they are a recipe for some very cool music - just don’t call them experimental.

“No I don’t think we are [experimental],” Duane explains. “I think we are a fairly straight-forward rock band and the new album, Oddfellows [2013], is more straight-forward than any of them. There are a lot of earlier songs that have big hooks and choruses, and big verses and riffs and drums and all that, so I don’t think we are. Of course we have our moments that are, oh – let’s say cinematic or just plain dumb, but I think especially on this new one, we rock out more than ever. It’s not rocket science, it’s not chamber music, it’s just a rock band.”

guys from the 30’s to 60’s but it’s certainly not limited to just them, you’d be surprised sometimes where we get our inspiration.

You guys set off on an international tour in ‘11. Where has been your favourite location to perform both internationally and in Australia? Yep, our European Tour in 2011 was very special for many reasons and we’re about to do it all again in late May / early June this year (2013). We’re heading back to Germany, Belgium, The Nederlands & Spain but this time including Austria too. Hard to narrow down just one particular favourite show overseas, although Germany was a blast and we were well received and treated amazingly I’d have to say our last show in Spain at a big 5 day festival was the ‘icing on the cake’ as we were totally blown away with the response from the crowd and fellow acts on the festival. The show couldn’t have gone any better.

Arriving in town for the Ballarat Beat festival, what can punters expect from your performance? Something similar to your killer performance at the 2011 Meredith Music Festival? We always try to make every performance the best one, it’s just the intensity that can vary sometimes and a lot of that does come from the crowd.

It’s a well known fact that if the audience is into the gig then the band bounces off that, and sometimes it can be the opposite but even in those times we try to focus on giving it our best. Each festival has a different vibe and Meredith was quite different to say, our Camperdown Cruise experience (another great festival run by Arthur Mats) so it’s kind of hard to tell how the Ballarat Beat will turn out but it’s certainly shaping up to

He continued: “We will play music from all the albums including Oddfellows and Anonymous [2007]- we haven’t played any of that in Australia yet, so we might play a tune or two from that - it will be kind of a retrospective.”

Mama Kin

want to explore and absolutely want to write from and yet at the same time you’re on stage and you need to deliver.”

But her connection to the word ‘connection’ isn’t limited to interpersonal exchanges and album recordings: its importance also extends to her live performances. “My whole thing with being on stage is connection,” Danielle explains. “I really want to connect with the audience. I want the audience to leave feeling connected to my songs, feeling connected to themselves, feeling connected to the stranger they sat next to and laughed with or cried with.”

Crying in response to Mama Kin songs is an experience that Danielle herself has gone through.

Yet in some of the instances where this has happened to her, there’s been an added dimension of difficulty: it has occurred on stage, mid-performance. “It’s only happened a couple of times,” she says, “where I’ve explained a song that’s really kind of deep to me for some reason…or is particularly poignant on that day or whatever, and I’ve gone to sing it and it’s just fucking put a brick in my throat, like really chocked me up. So it’s a tricky space to manage because it’s very real for me and it’s the space that I absolutely

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Apart from your upcoming performance, what does 2013 have in store for The ReChords? We’re planning

another big year ahead......with already a good number of local shows on our schedule between now and May, we’ll be performing at a number of special festivals around town including one that’s part of the Food & Wine festival season and the legendary ‘MOOMBA’ coming up this year. Then there is of course the upcoming return tour to Europe in late May early June plus we have a brand new EP sitting in the wings awaiting a launch date in the next few months.

This will be Duane’s third time in Australia as part of Tomahawk and I get the feeling he can hardly wait: “We are truly looking forward to coming down there! I’m stoked to be coming back,” Duane enthused. “It’s been a while for me – we’ve been there a couple of times as Tomahawk. I really love swimming when I’m there - it seems like we always go when it’s summer ‘cause that’s when the festivals are, so I manage to get some beach time which is always a pleasure. You folks are probably tired of the whole beach culture, but you can’t go wrong with Bondi. I like the Indian Ocean side too, around Perth - I love it there.

You guys are based near Melbourne right?

That’s the place that’s a little darker, with a little more sleaze and hot rods, like punk rock hell - well that’s what I think of when I think of Melbourne.”

It may not be rocket science, but it’s not all plain

Both in person and through her music, Danielle Caruana (aka Mama Kin) emanates an adorable amalgam of verve and vulnerability. Whilst talking to her, you’d have to be emotionally numb to resist being jolted into a space of alertness and pure presence. And in light of the importance she places upon the word ‘connection’, which she uses as a metaphor for what she describes as her “life path”, the amount of energy she put into my interview with her makes sense.

be an awesome experience with the line-up Arthur has organised. I’m sure the crowd can expect more incoherent banter between the band members, more bad ‘Dad’ jokes, plenty of crazy faces from Leo and the awesome sweat & grind that comes from Felix & his Gretsch, then there is just me keeping the beat & rhythm as solid as I can with no drummer in sight.

sailing either: “We butt heads on things – usually artistic decisions in the studio and once it’s done, it’s done. Between myself and Patton we are kind of different – I’m more of a minimalist and he’s more of a maximalist,” he laughed, “but somehow it works - what comes out is just right.”

Wrapping up our chat with some last words Duane concludes - “Say hello to Chopper for me, and if we sell enough records, is it possible for me to run for prime minister?” He joked. “Oh - maybe Nick Cave should be your prime minister.” That’s fine with me!

By Andrew Pretorius

When&Where: Feb 15-17 at the ballarat beat rockabilly festival, Ballarat (see ballaratbeat.com.au for complete schedule)

When&Where: March 1 - Soundwave Festival, Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne

While the word ‘connection’ is a direct route to Danielle’s heart, it isn’t the only one: the notion of ‘vulnerability’, which for her is intertwined with the concept of connection, elicits in her an equal amount of passion.

“Vulnerability for me is the flipside of the same coin of power,” Danielle discloses.

“The same place where I get all my strength and all my life force is the ability to have access to my own vulnerability, and for many many years I shirked away from that, especially publicly, as far as being a performer is concerned. That was what frightened me most about it: I knew that I couldn’t be a performer, I couldn’t be a musician, without being absolutely in touch with my vulnerability and exploring that space and excavating it constantly.”

Danielle is an enchantingly stark symbol of the paradoxes that we all are. She swears liberally, and there’s a hint of boyishness in her demeanour. And yet she still shines with femininity. To quote Portishead, there is a big part of her that just wants “to be a woman”.

“I’d much rather appear very cool and aloof, but in the closet I’m a total romantic, and I’m awaiting a swooning moment at every intersection,” Danielle divulges. “I’m a shocker like that, I’m always thinking there’s a big surprise around the corner. Of course there isn’t always a big surprise around the corner. It’s bullshit, because I always go like ‘I don’t care about my birthday’, and then I spend my whole birthday waiting for people to jump out of a room.”

When&Where: march 8-13 at port fairy folk festival - port fairy and April 12 - The Loft, Warrnambool

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23

Seth Lakeman

By Natalie Rogers

Seth Lakeman is pretty much an honorary Australian. He and his loyal band mates are returning to our friendly shores this Autumn to be part of some of our most anticipated festivals, play some sideshows of their own and just generally soak up the country that he loves. I caught up with him one night after a gig in London.

“Last time we were here we were told we were seeing some of the best spots,” Seth began, “but I’m sure it’s all great. Melbourne we love - we spent a few days there, but it felt like we were back in Britain a little. It was kind of dark, grey and rainy but it’s such a diverse city. The Adelaide Fringe Fest was one of the best festivals we have ever been to - that was super cool - and Fremantle, I loved it out there - or what do you call it - Freo? Innit? [laughing hysterically]. That was cool, yeah! I’m a huge fan of AC/DC and I went down the Highway to Hell last time I was there. Oh, you’ve got the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles! There are apostles there, right? I got a feel for the area now, yeah! [attempting an Austin Powers impression].

It’s going to be slightly warmer there, I’m hoping it’s snowy here.”

If you haven’t heard Seth Lakeman you’re missing out. He is an English folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist - his talents include the fiddle, viola, tenor guitar and banjo. If you like to drink, dance and be merry, Seth is the one for you: “We play all acoustic, energy-driven British folk/roots

Yolanda Be Cool

By Natalie Rogers

Sylvester Martinez and Durango Slim make up electronic duo Yolanda Be Cool. Venturing to Geelong this month alongside a swarm of other big name DJs, we caught up with one-half of the recipe to find out what they have in store for the highly anticipated 1st Birthday Party at Toast Nightclub.

“We are pretty pumped to come down and play for the first birthday of the Toast Nightclub! Since we have come back to Sydney we haven’t seen too much interstate, but we’ve heard everywhere has been pumping - both big clubs and small clubs,” says Martinez.

After the quick success of their colossal smash hit ‘We Speak No Americano’, which topped the charts in over 19 countries, Martinez and Slim have taken their show on the road, travelling the globe and seeing places they had only ever dreamed of visiting.

Having a number one hit in a lot of the destinations was just icing on the cake.

“Last summer in Berlin was a LOT of fun - too much fun,” Martinez laughed. “Awesome parties every night of the week - anything goes.” However, according to Martinez we Aussies can still party with the best of them: “We stack up really well,” he assures me.

“We’ve got amazing festivals here and the weather I think just makes people love to party.”

Fun is the aim of the game for these cool cats from Bondi, who will no doubt put on the party to end them all. “With the launch of our new album [Ladies and Mentalmen, 2012 ] we will be playing a whole

music. Soulful rhythms that people can sing, dance or drink along to - that’s the way I’d like to see myself, as the background music to good times in people’s lives.”

Expect to be impressed by Seth’s natural stage presence, something that comes from years of experience. “I grew up with music as almost a second language. My mother and father ran a folk club in Plymouth - my parents were also very good friends with professional musicians, so I learnt to play folk tunes when I was ten or eleven years old. My father is still singing and writing.

In my house I was the youngest and all my brothers were into music. We would go out busking in France together and then we eventually went out on tour together,” Seth recalled. Seth has been touring the world ever since.

Australian audiences hold a special place in Seth’s heart: “On our last tour people seemed to respond incredibly well and it was really successful, certainly at the festivals - people were really getting into what we were doing, so it’s exciting for us to come back and play some more and it’s almost twice as big this tour,” Seth confirmed. “We are playing some incredible places so we’re all looking forward to it! Our set will be a run-down of our six records - I’m going to pick the best, the most upbeat, uplifting songs we’ve got, and we are going to try to throw in a bit of new stuff - if people know our stuff there will be a few surprises.”

So if you missed Seth and his band last time around, don’t make the same mistake catch him at a string of gigs or a festival this coming March.

When&Where: March 7 - Royal Theatre, Castlemaine, March 8 till 11 - Port Fairy Folk Festival, Port Fairy, March 11 - Womadelaide Festival, Adelaide & March 12 - Ararat Live, Ararat

bunch of new tracks and we’ve been writing some new ones, so we’ve got a couple of exclusives that no–one has heard before that we’ll be playing as well. We collaborated with a whole heap of people that we really wanted, like Nola Darling and The Flaming Lips. Our next single will feature Gurramul, who is someone we have always loved. We have been really lucky with the people we’ve collaborated with,” Martinez explains.

Virtual overnight success, and all the incredible opportunities that came with it made the guys want more - so they started their own label titled ‘Sweat It Out’ - “Sweat It Out is our home label - we love searching and cultivating other young artists that we can bring into the label and make part of the family. As part of the label now we have Parachute Youth, Loot & Plunder, Danny T, AJAX, What So Not and many more new fresh acts. It has been a lot of fun.”

I asked Martinez if he had any wise words to get out to the residents of Geelong, he responded with - “We invite everyone to come, all ladies and mentalmen to come and rage with us at Toast’s first birthday on February 23. We will be giving out shirts and CD’s and some surprises to the first lucky five people!”

Put on your funkiest threads and get down to Toast on February 23 to celebrate what’s been one hell of’ a’ debut year with Yolanda Be Cool.

When&Where: February 23 - Toast Nightclub, Geelong

Kyuss Lives!

By Paul S Taylor

Australians relate to Kyuss and their music on so many levels and it’s really no surprise when you remember they’re the guys who wrote ‘Thong Song’, seemingly for us only. Filming a video clip of your band playing in the desert is also somewhat quintessentially Australian; Midnight Oil did it, Yothu Yindi did it and there’s probably more who did but I’ve forgotten.

What else is totes Australian and linked to hot weather? Cricket! Damn! I really should have asked Kyuss vocalist John Garcia about that when I spoke to him recently.

It’s been more than a decade since John visited our sunny land so it was time to reminisce about the good ol’ times, like, when he and Kyuss were here. “The first time we went down there (here, Aus) we were opening for Metallica. We had a chance to actually drive a little bit from here to there.

Obviously we didn’t just drive all the way around the perimeter, but there were pieces of it we did attempt to drive through. In one particular instance we were driving in our van with our tour manager and it was close to dusk, getting a little bit dark, but we noticed that all of a sudden it got dark very, very quickly and it was just the swarm of what looked to be like giant flying cats, was actually the fruit bat. It was such a phenomenal sight I will never forget it,” John tells me.

The whole conversation between John and I revolved around how great Australia is and how awesome fellow Kyuss band mate Brant Bjork is.

For those who don’t know the story; Kyuss were a

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When&Where: Kyuss Lives! Sidewave will be at The Palace - Tuesday February 26.

The band will also appear at the sold out Soundwave 2013 at the Melbourne Showgrounds on Friday March 1. band from ‘89 to ‘95 then at the height of their career they called it quits. Now they’re all back together, kind of [one of the original members hasn’t rejoined the fold, he’s too busy playing guitar and singing in some band called Queens Of The Stone Age].

The series of live Kyuss shows has got the guys not only thinking about but working on a new project under the new moniker of

XXXX - “I myself can tell you that I’m very curious on what its going to sound like and what I’m going to sing. Doing demos is a lot different than actually singing on the record and so I’m curious myself. Is it going to be a rock record?

Yes. Is it going to sound like Kyuss? Well, do you have the original drummer and more than the original song writers, and the original singer? Yes. So there’s going to be some similarities there I think. But I think that this is obviously a different band than Kyuss and there are going to be some

different avenues that we go down,” John explains to me.

Kyuss, had for a long time been an oddity in the collective metal memory, a strange band who had come, reached the height of their career and then evaporated like four drops of water on the burning desert sands. Drought hit and now after too long the drought has finally broken. Which means we can all relieve our Blues For The Red Sun.

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TALK OF THE

TOWN!

Keepin' it Regional!

FOOD: UNICORN

BY POPULAR DEMAND

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“ The nudity itself is not a planned part of the set, but due to our 8 weeks of playing music so far; we try to encourage better playing by demanding that any member who f**** up during a song must remove one item of clothing… turns out we have made quite a few errors in our first two sets.” - Kansas City Faggots

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TALK OF THE TOWN! Talk of the Town: We just want to have fun. Coming up you have… .........................................................................

ChillOut in Daylesford ChillOut is the biggest and longest-running Country Queer Pride event in regional Australia. The event was first held in 1997 when 10 stallholders and between 50 and 100 people took advantage of a Sunday afternoon.

The festival made some major inroads as the years went by. In 2005 influential US website gay.com called ChillOut one of the best and most important queer festivals in the world and in 2009 some 25,000 visited attended their biggest event to date, ChillOut: Disco Stampede. From little things big things do indeed grow.

ChillOut runs under the mission statement: “Dedicated to celebrating gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer pride. ChillOut is about building community, celebrating diversity, and sharing our love for each other and our unique setting in central regional Victoria.” As always the festival takes place over the Labour Day long weekend which this year falls across March 8 through 11. For full details hit chilloutfestival.com.au. .........................................................................

Omar Romero & the Stringpoppers Rockabilly is played at its absolute finest when Omar Romero & the Stringpoppers take to the stage. Taking centre stage is Mexico-born Omar Romero who has been playing guitar and singing since he was fourteen.

He formed his first band, The Screamin’ Solo Flights, in 1999 and released a couple of tracks that did well.

But the wild hip-swinging ways of rockabilly started to call and in 2001 the Stringpoppers was formed. The band was one of the first to sign to the highly respected Wild Records label which was also born in 2001. Take a look at a YouTube video and you’ll be taken back to the 1950s. It’s a little wild, a little wicked and there’s a whole lotta shakin’ going on. The band plays The Karova, Ballarat on February 14 (With fellow USA stompers The Desperados) as part of a pre-Ballarat Beat Festival show. More on Ballarat Beat can be found later in Talk of the Town. .........................................................................

Three Taps for Ruby Boots Meet Bex Chilcott. She is the super-cool vocalist for Ruby Boots. While you’re at it, meet Clay Smith, Eliza Rogers and Ashwin Subramaniam. They’re the equally super-cool folk that make up the rest of the band. Inspired by the blues, folk and country greats, Ruby Boots gives birth to sweet guitar licks, bar-room piano and slick violin. When it comes to their music, an adventurous spirit is advantageous. Bex has travelled far and wide, journeying to Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans to immerse herself in music that is rich in heart, history and soul. They have knocked out a couple of EPs and later in the year they’ll be releasing their debut full-length effort. The first single, ‘Kellie Anne’, is out now. It was recorded in Nashville and features Calexico’s Paul Neihaus on pedal steel.

Beav’s Bar, Geelong - February 7. .........................................................................

Stephen Downes: A Lasting Record Pianist William Kapell was born in New York in 1922.

He studied under Olga Samaroff and at Julliard. He won his first competition at the age of 10 and by the late 1940s was widely considered the finest American pianist. He played his final show in Geelong on October 22, 1953. On his return flight to the US the plane he was aboard crashed killing all passengers.

Kapell was just 31. In A Lasting Record, the new book from author Stephen Downes, the life of Kapell, and the story of his interconnected life with Melbournebased Myer cosmetics salesman and classical music aficionado Roy Preston, is examined. This is sure to be a fascinating read and Stephen Downes will launch the book, giving you a little insight along the way, at GPAC on February 21. Pianist Katherine Shiell is his special guest.

Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival

Keepin’ Touch with Mama Kin

Do you want to head back to the 1950s when rock ‘n’ roll was the devil’s music? When the men were rowdy and the women loose? Not all men and women - just those that loved the devil’s music. Ah stereotypes: they’re awesome. Anyway, the Ballarat Beat Festival is calling. It’s a’ hollering I tell ya. From the shakin’ mind of Arthur Matsakos, Ballarat Beat is a feast of rockabilly and 1950’s vibes. The inaugural festival is bringing out some big guns too with Omar Romero, The Desperados, Beebo, CC Jerome’s Jetsetters, Midnight Drifters, The ReChords, West Texas Crude, Atomic Hi-Tones, Yard Apes and The Mayhem County Boys among the artists set to perform. To put it shortly and sweetly, Ballarat Beat Festival is Rockabilly Heaven and it all takes place from February 15 through 17. For the full line-up and all the other bits and pieces on show hit ballaratbeat.com.au.

Outside of Bon Scott, Danielle Caruana, aka Mama Kin, could quite possibly be Fremantle’s favourite child. It’s hard not to embrace her. Born into a musical family, Mama Kin effortlessly dances from foot-stompin’ soul to heart wrenching ballads. Her first album, Beat and Holler, may have got the ball rolling but it was through her live performances that momentum really picked up speed. Soon enough every stage large and small wanted to host her. In 2013 fans eagerly await her sophomore album, The Magician’s Daughter (February 22). From her website: “Where her debut album Beat and Holler was a soulstress’ war cry, traversing the riotous and the raw, her sophomore album takes us deeper into the human condition, where the magic lives.” The Loft, Warrnambool - April 12.

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Apollo Bay Next Wave

Brouhaha for Huha Bendigo’s Huha Nightclub will host its summer edition Huha Party on February 16 and plenty of good times are promised. For starters The Twins will be there.

The Twins are a couple of party gals who appeared on 2010’s Beauty and the Geek and they have been hotting up the dance floor since. Who else do you have? Slice N’ Dice, Some Blonde DJ, Will Sparks, Katt Niall, Press Play, Stretchy, Luke Montgomery, Brad Smit, Ethan Foreman, Kane Laidley, Jake Cowling, Leon K and Mason Flint. There is a fair bit more but that should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. The summertime party kicks off at 1pm and will run through until 10pm. If you still have fuel in your tank you can kick on afterwards. Tickets are available through Moshtix, Skin Ski & Surf, Red Chair Boutique and the La Trobe University Bookshop.

Presented by FReeZA and the Apollo Bay Music Festival, the Next Wave Competition is doing the call-out to all the young talented musos out there.

Submissions are currently open for the competition so if you haven’t tried your luck, here are the basics: All individual entrants or members of a band must be 21 years of age or under (as of April 26, 2013).

Professionally managed, published or signed artists are ineligible to enter. Previous winners are also ineligible to enter. Successful applicants will receive a free pass to the 2013 Apollo Bay Music Festival (April 26-28) and will be allocated a 20-minute performance spot.

Okay, so they’re the basics but a more comprehensive rundown can be found through apollobaymusicfestival. com. Applications close 5pm, March 18.

A Day on the Green Tickets still remain for the Hoodoo Guru’s-led A Day on the Green at The Hill Winery, Geelong on February 16. How is that possible? Good question because the line-up is an Aussie gem. We’re talking about the Hoodoo Gurus. The band that has has hits including ‘Leilani’, ‘Tojo’, ‘My Girl’, ‘I Want You Back’, ‘Like Wow Wipeout!’, ‘Miss Freelove 69’ and ‘What’s My Scene?’.

The band that was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007. The band that was so loved they became known as the Gurus. Come on people! You also have Ross Wilson, Dragon and Boom Crash Opera.

Yes, that’s right: ‘Daddy Cool’, ‘April Sun in Cuba’ and ‘Onion Skin’. You know them all. And now you know what to do. Hit adayonthegreen.com.au for further information.

Tales from Seth Lakeman Has there ever been a doubt that England’s Seth Lakeman is a talented dude? I hope not.

Can he sing? Damn right he can. Can he play guitar? Yep. Can he play the fiddle? Like he was Johnny from Georgia. On his latest album, 2011’s Tales from the Barrel House, he shows us just how talented a guy he is. Not only did he write all the songs for the album but played every musical contribution himself as well as producing and mixing the entire thing. The album is his sixth with his first, The Punch Bowl, coming in 2002. Prior to launching a solo career, Seth performed with his brothers Sean and Sam in The Lakeman Brothers. Embarking on a solo career proved to be a golden move with Lakeman earning the title of ‘Poster Boy of Folk’. Theatre Royal, Castlemaine - March 7.

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Riverboats Festival This is the final call for the Riverboats Music Festival, partly because our next issue won’t come out until after the festival and partly because there is only so many times one can remind another about something. But it is definitely worth one last reminder.

Taking place in the twin towns of Echuca-Moama, the festival cosies down under magnificent towering red gums in a natural amphitheatre right next to the Murray River. Pete Murray, Clare Bowditch, Archie Roach, James Reyne, Tim Rogers, Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows, Mia Dyson, Gossling, Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes, The Bombay Royale, Cash Savage & The Last Drinks, Better Than the Wizards and Talisa Jobe will all be there. The festival takes place across February 15, 16 & 17. For a full rundown of the event hit riverboatsmusic.com.au.

Macondo Blowout Local Torquay surf punk power house Macondo Blowout have invited their good buddies King of the North down to the beach to showcase their unique brand of hard hitting rock to the local punters. Together with Battle Axe Howlers this promises to be a unforgetable night of pure rock mayhem. Be apart of the mayhem at the Torquay Hotel Fri. Feb 15th doors open at 9pm.

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Howling for Wolf Mail Music lovers and particularly guitarists are going to want to check out Wolf Mail when he plugs in at the Music Man Megastore, Bendigo on March 15 and The Wool Exchange, Geelong on March 16. Born in Canada and raised in the South of France and California, Wolf picked up the guitar at the age of ten.

There was something about the sounds of Elmore James and John Lee Hooker which bore into his music soul. He played his first gig at the age of 14 and at 17, like a great rock ‘n’ roll cliché, ran away to tour with his own band. At the age of 19, with a hundred bucks in his pocket, he headed for the place where dreams are made and crushed: L.A. He spent the next decade playing whenever and wherever he could - whether he was invited to or not. His dedication paid off and today Wolf Mail is considered one of the finest blues rock guitarists in the world.

All My Friends Know the Lowrider Adelaide sure knows how to produce a fine band.

Take, for example, hip-soul outfit Lowrider. We were introduced to this outfit through their 2006 self-titled debut release. With the buzz starting to get louder and louder, the band released the albums Diamond Amongst the Thieves and then Round the World.

Both releases did wonders for the band and it didn’t take long for the rest of the music world to catch up on what longtime fans already knew about the band.

On February 15 Lowrider will release their third studio album, Black Stones. The album has taken shape over the past 12 months at Red Bull’s Studios in Los Angeles and Adelaide’s Chapel Lane Studios. Lead single ‘Days of Boredom’ has been floating around since late last year. Theatre Royal, Castlemaine March 24.

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ballarat / bendigo / geelong / surfcoast / warrnambool / werribee

Drapht across the Uni-Verse

Birds of Tokyo Forward March Towards the end of last year Aussie favourites Birds of Tokyo announced a tour for 2013 and things are about to kick off with a show at the Sports & Rec Centre and the University of Ballarat on February 27. Only a few days after their Ballarat show the band will release album number four, March Fires. How is that for some good news? Some fans have already been lucky enough to hear some new numbers thanks to the EP This Fire and a handful of shows including a killer spot at Homebake. If you haven’t yet heard their new jams, well here is your chance. It is going to be a tough job delivering an album that is up to par with 2010’s ARIA-winning self-titled effort but all reports indicate an album that is not just up to the task but makes a serious threat of surpassing it.

Hi there University students. How the hell are ya? Are you ready for a year of drinking higher learning? Oh, what wonderful things await you. To quote Dr Seuss, “Things may happen and often do to people as brainy and footsy as you.” O-Week is edging closer and it is the perfect place to lull you into your studies.

And perhaps there is no finer a man on this earth more perfect to lull you into your studies than Drapht. Born Paul Gary James Ridge, Drapht grew up in Western Australia. He was introduced to hip hop by a school mate and at the age of 17 become a vital member of Perth hip hop crew, Syllabolix. He’s released a few albums all of which were lovingly embraced by the hip hop community. His most recent album is 2011’s The Life of Riley which took out Best Independent Hip Hop/Urban Album honours at the 2011 AIR Awards. We haven’t seen much of him since his 2012 Big Day Out shows so who knows, you may hear some new stuff. You’ll definitely hear some old stuff.

And all your favourite stuff. La Trobe, Bendigo - February 26 & The Wool Exchange, Geelong - February 28.

Come Save Mat McHugh Quick bite: There is a lot to like about Mat McHugh.

Take, for example, his generous nature in offering up his latest album Love Come Save Me for free.

Yep, free. The album was released last year and within the space of a couple of weeks had been downloaded over 25,000 times. Speaking about his decision to give it away for free, Mat said: “This is music I love, that I put a lot of effort and heart into, and it feels good to give something to people for nothing.” Aww. Torquay Hotel, Torquay - March 6.

If you haven’t yet downloaded the goods you can do so through lovecomesaveme.com. .........................................................................

Sail Away with Strange Talk

Van She for You & Me

Aurora Jane’s Bright Aura

Spawned by the electropop gods themselves, Van She released their debut album V in 2008. Their label introduced them as a “new band from Sydney fresh on ideas, fresher than Flavor Flav, fresh like coriander, fresher than Fresh Prince, fresher than fresh eggs.” You don’t get much fresher than that. It has also been said that they “bridge the musical gap between boldly adventurous shoegaze and danceable glint disco.” That too is impressive.

It’s all very well and good having nice things said about you but if you can’t back it up you’re made to look foolish. Good thing then that the four charmers that make up the band do.

Following up their debut the band released Idea of Happiness last year. A lot of people liked it. And they still do. Eureka Hotel, Geelong - February 9.

You can call it progressive roots fusion. You can call it funk. Whatever it is, it’s smokin’.

The effortlessly funkafied Aurora Jane has been a busy gal these past few months. She has been touring and recording abroad but has finally come back to spend some time under the Aussie sun with her fans. And she has bassist Tim Bennett and drummer Marley Berry-Pearce helping her out. To sweeten the deal Aurora has been working on a new album which features horns recorded in Havana during her travels. Ah, ‘tis a tough life but someone has to do it. Throughout the summer she will also launch her new project Mojo Junction, a concept website and creative lifestyle resource. The Karova, Ballarat February 9; Babushka Bar, Ballarat - March 16; Martians Café - March 17.

No Trouble with Ash Grunwald Quick bite: Okay good readers, this is a final shout-out about Ash Grunwald’s upcoming show at Geelong’s Wool Exchange on February 9. Ash has spent the better part of the year so far working his way around the country in support of his latest album, Trouble’s Door. The buzz surrounding the blues/roots songman’s previous album Hot Mama Vibes had only just begun to soften when Trouble’s Door was released. The album was funded through PledgeMusic.

Quick bite: At this time of year there is so much University fun and games to be had when it comes to music and Strange Talk at Sub Bar @ Deakin, Warrnambool on March 4 is up there with the best of the fun and games. While students ease themselves into another year, Strange Talk will be showing off their debut album, Cast Away. The album is due for release tomorrow (February 8) and if buzz is anything to go by it is going to be a smash. It’s a new beginning for both band and Uni students so let the fun and games begin. .........................................................................

Buffalo Nickel with Alawishus Jones Quick bite: Melbourne-based bluegrass band Buffalo Nickel has a show lined up at the Bendigo Folk Club on February 15. They’re a very talented bunch. Vocalist and guitarist Daniel Watkins was announced as the winner of the Davidson Brother’s 2013 Australian Youth Bluegrass Scholarship while George Jackson, the trio’s fiddle player, is the current Australian Bluegrass Fiddle Champion and the recipient of the 2012 Australian Youth Bluegrass Scholarship. .........................................................................

A Toast to Toast Nightclub On February 23 Geelong’s Toast Nightclub will celebrate its first birthday. And let me say it is as adorable as it was the day it was born. A little chubbier, but that’s okay. The venue is obviously in everybody’s good books because they have put together a cracker of a line-up to help celebrate the big day. Yolanda Be Cool will be there. The body-rockin’ duo of Sylvester Martinez, aka Andrew Stanley, and Johnson ‘Durango Slim’ Peterson is cool by name and cool by nature. Andy Murphy will be there as well. He doesn’t just spin a fine tune but he cuts a fine figure. He is a fashion ambassador don’t you know? Will Sparks, Chardy, Joel Fletcher, Press Play and Holly-J will also be there. Presents are not required but your presence would be very much appreciated. Doors open 2pm. .........................................................................

Scaramouche Will Rock You Pub rock trivia: Scaramouche is a roguish clown of the Italian commedia dell’arte who was popularised in the Queen song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Bonus points: It is also the name of a fine Melbourne band who put the rock in “We Will Rock You’. The band formed in 2008 and originally called Canberra home.

They earned a solid name before setting their sights on Melbourne in 2011, a year which proved a busy one with their debut EP, Access Denied, finding its release early in the piece. The EP proved popular and soon the band was racking up gigs left, right and centre. The lads now have a new EP titled Welcome to the Parlour. They launched the EP at Melbourne’s Cherry Bar last October and a good rockin’ time was had by one and all. The Loft, Warrnambool - February 8. .........................................................................

Spirit of the Staircase There is a French expression that goes ‘L’esprit De Escalier’, which refers to the feeling one gets after leaving a conversation and begins to think of all the things they should have said. You would be hardpressed to find someone unfamiliar to this situation.

Spirit of the Staircase, the new exhibition from Geelong graphic artists Stacey Williams and Riley McDonald, is taken from this French expression.

Spirit of the Staircase is a collection of works - across a mix of mediums - that taps into the concepts of creativity and divinity through a colourful menagerie of animals, armoured beasties and robots. The exhibition takes place at Geelong’s Kaleidoscope Gallery and opening night is February 8, 6pm-10pm.

Spirit of the Stairway will then run during Courthouse ARTs hours until February 21. .........................................................................

Hailmary, Rock is With Thee We gave you a bit of a spiel about Perth’s Hailmary in last issue but you are going to get it again. Why? Because they’re in red-hot form at the moment and they have a few local shows lined up to show you just why they’re in red-hot form. Combining grungetinged riffs with classic rock approach, the band has followed up the fine work on their first couple of EPs with their debut full-length effort, Choice Path - Consequence - Solution. For the album the band spent two months in the US working with Jeff Tomei whose list of credentials include Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains and Smashing Pumpkins.

If 2012 was a big year then 2013 is shaping up as a whopper. The Karova, Ballarat - February 15; The Barwon Club, Geelong - February 21; The Newmarket, Bendigo - February 22. .........................................................................

The Bare Tully on Tully Here’s a story about a lovely lady named Natalie Foster. She is the leader of the Tully on Tully pack, a bunch of Ballarat/Melbourne folk with a fondness for indie pop. The band first said hello to the music world in mid 2011. Prior to that Natalie won a songwriting competition at NMIT but after luring Iain McRae, Peter Corrigan, Frank Lees and Greg Rietwyk to her basement, a band they became. Later in 2011 the band released their debut single, ‘Hard to Breathe’.

Their latest single is ‘Stay’ which features Hayden Calnin. Fans can also look forward to an album

sometime in 2013. It is a short story. And it is a sweet story. Check them out at The Karova, Ballarat on February 8. With Stringfellow Hawke and Yuko Nishiyama. .........................................................................

Blue Skies Ahead for Pete Murray Quick bite: Another final shout-out for another big Wool Exchange Show, this time for Pete Murray who checks into the venue on February 16. The show, part of a bumper 40+ date tour schedule, will take in all albums including his latest, 2011’s Blue Sky Blue.

Released in 2011, the album has been called “The happiest break-up album ever written.” The album was recorded at L.A.’s legendary Sunset Sound studios with former Beck producer Tom Rothrock. .........................................................................

A Telling Wes Carr Tale Quick bite: Raised in South Australia, Wes Carr has been in the music game for a fair time. Sure, Australian Idol introduced him to a wider audience but he found a place in the music game before his 2008 series win. These days he is performing under the moniker Buffalo Tales. Laced with folk and altcountry undertones, Buffalo Tales has breathed new music life into Carr as he returns to his singersongwriter roots. His debut album is Blood & Bone.

Beav’s Bar, Geelong - February 17. .........................................................................

DCUP Knows How to Party Quick bite: Some will know him as Duncan MacLennan but many more would know him as DCUP. The producer, DJ and remixer received a massive profile boost when he teamed with Yolanda Be Cool on ‘We Speak No Americano’. The track topped the UK, Irish and Danish charts while reaching the Top 5 in Australia, Spain and Sweden among others. It has also generated a massive 45 million YouTube views. Along with Chardy and a host of Geelong’s best party DJs, DCUP will take to The Pier, Geelong on March 5 as part of the DUSA Deakin Beach Party.

Toe-Tapping with The Junes Quick bite: Formed in the wake of GIT and The Toe Sucking Cowgirls, The Junes are a country swing supergroup that will have you tapping your feet as well as anything else you’re able to tap. They’re just that infectious. The band is the collective talents of Sarah Carroll, Suzannah Espie and Gleny Rae Virus and they’ve been at it for a few years now so they have it down pat. You will find fiddle, mandolin, ukulele and even the piano accordion. You will find influences from calypso, soul, gypsy, 70s rock, folk and roots country swing. You will find it impossible not to get involved. Piping Hot Chicken Shop February 15. .........................................................................

Pugsley Buzzard’s Got the Fever Quick bite: Often clocking up hundreds of shows a year, Pugsley Buzzard was born to play music. From the jazz cellars of Berlin to downtown New Orleans, Buzzard’s piano-driven boogie has mesmerised audiences and stolen hearts. The Sydney Morning Herald’s John Shand writes: “This is hearfelt music that can sweep you into its shady world, and have you flirting with a little good ol` fashioned evil, or smiling at the sly wit.” Piping Hot Chicken Shop February 22. .........................................................................

Old Hepburn Hotel Gigs Quick bite: Hepburn Springs’ Old Hepburn Hotel has plenty of music treats coming up so do yourself a favour and make a note of these: Rory Ellis checks into the venue on February 10, Mia Dyson shares songs and stories on February 15, Chris Wilson will show why he is one of Australian blues’ leading figures on February 17, Canada’s Faye Blais will perform on February 21 with favourite Genevieve Chadwick while the UK’s Heather Peace settles in on February 22. Heather’s appearance follows a lengthy campaign by Australian fans and is sure to be a cracking night.

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TALK OF THE TOWN!

Moments with Little Wise Do you know Little Wise? If not you should do yourself a favour and get a little more familiar. The brainchild of Sophie Klein, the band is like a warm musical blanket stuffed with folk, roots, blues, rock and soul. Their debut EP is titled Moments of Clarity and for it Sophie snared the talents of Rosie Burgess (Rosie Burgess Trio), Sam Lohs (Fruit), Alex Burkoy (Tinpan Orange) and Lou Cuming (Poco La Pax) among others. The album is lush with guitars, mandolin, banjo and harmonica and was called “one of the sweetest EPs to be released this year” by Buzz Media’s Dave Griffiths. The Loft, Warrnambool - February 15 (with Melba vs Salvador); Martians Café, Deans Marsh - March 1 (with Megan Bernard); Babushka Lounge, Ballarat - March 2 (with Megan Bernard).

O-Week Kickstart Party Quick bite: Another O-Week shindig, this time taking place at Geelong’s mighty Home House on March 4. Now, unfortunately I can’t tell you much about it because I don’t know much about it. But it is called the O-Week Kickstart Party and if ever there was a venue that could be trusted to make O-Week a week to remember it would be Home House. Basically what you can look forward to are some of the best DJs sweating themselves silly as they perform for you. Hell, you may even meet someone special. An O-Week romance if you will… .........................................................................

Free for Donavon Frankenreiter Donavon Frankenreiter is playing a string of coastal gigs as part of his Corona Extra & La Casa Artist Residency tour. Performing at the Torquay Hotel on Sunday February 17, punters have the opportunity to catch Donavon and that infamous moustache completely free of charge as he brings you the easy folk sounds of his fifth full length album, ‘Start Livin’. The upcoming set

list will not only include the songs from his recently released album (which was recorded in a swift 7 days) but a catalogue of favourites including ‘Free’ and ‘Lovely Day’. Torquay Hotel are proud as punch to be hosting one of Donavon’s free shows and encourage music lovers to get down and take advantage of the rare chance to catch the mo in action. .........................................................................

Celebration of Sol Nation If I was to ask you to “Take a large melting pot, fill half way with Reggae, add a dash of East Timorese folk song, a punch of Cuban Salsa, a sprinkle of Latin dance, 3 parts Afro-Beat, 2 parts tropical island rhythm, a sprinkle of Brazilian Samba, fill with funk and stir”, you may well say, ‘shut up crazy guy. Do it yourself’.

The more astute may say, ‘quit cutting and pasting the opening lines of Sol Nation’s biography’. But I can’t help it. It’s a colourful introduction to a colourful band.

If they were a cocktail they would be - well, a cocktail that picked up your spirits, shone a little sun and made you feel like you were the best dancer to ever have danced on a dance floor. Spend a rhythmic night with them at Theatre Royal, Castlemaine on March 2.

Miss Universe Australia All eyes are on Australia to produce the 2013 winner of the Miss Universe pageant after homegrown Renae Ayris placed 3rd Runner up at the International competition in Las Vegas last year.

Geelong is receiving its very own time in the limelight as it prepares to host the Regional Victorian Preliminary at the Sphinx Hotel on March 9. Staged in the Function Room the event will showcase a runway performance by all contestants followed by a dinner with proceeds going directly to Operation Smile Australia.

The Miss Universe pageant exceeds its popularity each consecutive year and for those with an interest in the beauty and fashion industry, acts as a fantastic platform for some of Australia’s beautiful, confident and educated girls to break in to the industry and represent Australia at an international level. Winners will progress through the heats with the potential of being crowned Miss Universe Australia. Taking the crown across foreign waters, Miss Universe Australia will then have the opportunity to represent Australia at the NBC & Donald Trump’s International Miss Universe Pageant that is to be held later this year.

More than simply a competition of aesthetics, the title-holder of Miss Universe Australia will be the first Australian Ambassador for Operation Smile - An international aid group run by volunteers with the desire to achieve medical sustainability in developing countries. Tied in closely with the pageant, the winner will work in conjunction with Operation Smile, to first and foremost raise awareness of the children’s medical charity. A greater responsibility than some would expect of a Miss Universe Australia, the winner will play an active agent in the remarkable work this charity does in working with children with severe facial disfigurement.

To get down and support more than just a pretty face, join the team at the Sphinx for the Regional Victorian Miss Universe final on March 9. Dinner is set for 7.30pm with judging beginning at 9pm.

For more information on the event contact the venue on 5278 2911.

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FORTEMAG.COM.AU

By Rebecca McIntyre

josh dance

By Tex Miller

There are a few things that you will discover from reading this interview. 1. Josh Dance is a top bloke, you can tell by his calm and easygoing nature. 2. He is not a one-trick pony and 3. He has some live shows coming to areas near you. I’m going to be truthfully honest with you.

Being straight up with a musician when you begin interviewing them is always the best way, and initially I was feeling a bit nervous about doing this interview, because I couldn’t find that much about Josh on the internet, that is simply due to the fact that there is not much information to find!

Beginning to play the guitar at the tender age of 12 and being influenced by some of Australia’s biggest pub rock pioneers including the likes of Cold Chisel, ACDC, Rose Tattoo and Bruce Springsteen, Dance puts a unique twist on the singer/songwriter mould within his solo shows. Within that, Josh feels that too many musicians within the music industry are defaulting back to what they are comfortable playing. “It’s all about keeping the audience entertained I believe, and throwing a curve ball at them with something different, is always going to keep them on their toes. That’s the main thing that I aim for within my own shows. I like heavy metal as much as the next guy but when these particular bands are get up there and play for one particular demographic, they are being one trick ponies and that overtime becomes a little tiring. A lot of those guys are probably closet Phil Collins fans I think,” Josh states about the ever-changing nature of his stage show.

His latest EP titled It’s The Same For Lots Of People, which scored a review in the last issue of Forte, was recorded primarily at The Cave in Werribee and Transmission Studios in Geelong.

Working alongside Austin Walsh in Geelong to produce a couple of the tracks was in Josh’s word ‘purely awesome.’ “Some of the producers that you come across are almost a little bit jaded in a way, but I didn’t find that working with Austin, because he understands sound and is very enthusiastic about each song and working with enthusiasm beats everything. I was also lucky enough to work with Nat DePalma from Geelong’s own Goofyfooter, on this recording which was an absolute pleasure and I think the chemistry and the energy that we had to this set of songs really shines through on the EP.” With a few clips up on Youtube for his most recent song ‘Nervous’ (which was filmed in the studio by Austin Walsh), Josh Dance is making his way around the region spreading his music to as many people as he can. Gigs at Torquay’s Left Off The Rocks,

Portico in Ballarat and CQ at the Waterfront in the upcoming month, for anyone getting along to these shows, Josh suggests that you arrive with your dancing shoes on and an open mind ready for anything. “These shows are bound to be fantastic, and I’ll be playing alongside some other great singer/songwriters at City Quarter, I really can’t wait to get out and play my songs, there will be a bit of everything thrown into my set, so there should be something for everyone to enjoy!”

When&Where: February 9 - Left Off The Rocks, Torquay, February 15 - Portico, Ballarat & February 21 City Quarter, Geelong

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food: unicorn

HAILMARY

Australian rock is as alive as its ever been, with a local scene filled with bands who only continue to impress pub-goers with their live performances. A perfect example of this is Perth outfit Hailmary.

Forte took time out to catch up for a chat with Gary from the Unicorn. Now if you haven’t heard of the Unicorn, its a Ballarat venue that is soaring from strength to strength through their fantastic dining experience, impeccable sense of style and their love of great music. Its one of those places that is just, you know...trendy. So, in awe of Gary and the team’s hard work, he kindly gave us an insider’s peek into how the trendy half live What style of venue is the Unicorn? Unicorn is a newly established cafe refurbished from the remains of an 1850’s hotel which originated from the Unicorn mine site.

Where is it situated? Tell us about its location.

127 Sturt St, down the bottom end near Lydiard St, just down from the Commonwealth bank and on the corner of Unicorn Lane...

What sort of items can people expect on the menu? 7 days a week, punters can get breakfast, lunch & dinner all day. Monin flavoured milk shakes, freshly squeezed juices, hot chocolates & our renowned coffee. Even our tea range is extensive.

Looking at our food range, you can start light with our toasties, seasonal fruit bowls & our original Cajun chips with aoili. Barramundi is a feature on our menu,

as well as Louisiana Pie, Jambalaya & our unique pumpkin & Okra Salads.

Do you guys do any ‘specials’, or special menu items? Specials feature every day from soups to strawberry salad, there is always variation as well as the old favourites. Cakes & biscuits are always on hand & our home made hot & sweet chutneys are a great taste addition.

We all love catching up over a drink. Is this possible at the Unicorn? Yes, we are licensed from 11am to 11pm so you can come for a drink & relax on our couches.

What can punters expect on the weekends?

Always expect a vibrant atmosphere as tourists & locals mix it up inside & out the front under the only balcony of its kind in Australia with original swag belly panels & lace work.

We have noticed you have vinyl playing all week, what else do you have for music lovers? With a record player playing retro tunes from our extensive vinyl collection most of the time, you may even see some muso’s jamming it up in the afternoons. We encourage grass roots music. We like to keep it local...

Anything else? The coffee has love in it...

After a successful 2012 which saw them tour the country, these dedicated rockers are finally set to release their debut album Choice Path Consequences Solution to Victorian audiences this month. Showing no signs of slowing down, the band couldn’t be happier with the way things have turned out. “Victoria has been very accepting of us which has been great. The bands, radio jocks and punters have all show us a great deal of love,” frontman Kevin Curran reveals. “It’s awesome to come and tour here every couple of months and see the growth with every visit.”

There is no denying Curran is the mastermind behind the whole Hailmary operation. His Kurt Cobain looks and voice are a perfect fit for the band’s grunge-filled catalogue, even if he doesn’t quite live the rockstar lifestyle. “I’m a simple man, I mean my idea of a good time is to be surrounded by friends at a BBQ.” The debut album, which they’ll be launching on the upcoming tour was recorded in the Atlanta under the guidance of celebrated producer Jeff Tomei (Smashing Pumpkins, Matchbox Twenty).

“Recording out of Australia is a great experience in itself, so we’d definitely be keen on doing it again at some point,” says Curran. The boys plan on returning within the next year, but with different goals in mind. “Our main focus for going back to the states would be purely to tour this record.”

By brendan dando

Playing alongside the likes of The Beards and Electric Mary, Hailmary have big plans in store for their upcoming 11-date East Coast tour. “We have a couple of songs and ideas that we have started working on, one in particular is nearly at the point where we can trial it live,” he announces quite enthusiastically. “We may pull them out on our Victorian tour this month.”

Being based in Perth can come with both its positives and its negatives, but Mr. Curran is keeping optimistic about the situation. “I’m just happy we have some heat because Winter went on for what seemed liked 6 months!” He jokes. “I’m not a big fan of the cold, so to just be able to go to the beach wearing thongs and shorts is awesome!”

Sticking through the best and worst times, Hailmary aren’t simply a group of musicians, they are a group of friends. However one thing they just can’t agree on is Curran’s love of professional wrestling. “I’m pretty much on my own when it comes to wrestling,” he admits with a laugh. Growing up watching wrestling from a young age at his grandfather’s home, the Hailmary frontman still can’t deny his passion for ‘sports entertainment’.

“My grand dad was a fan but didn’t admit it, so it was always on when i was growing up. I got right into it, hiring all of the videotapes and stuff.”

Anybody who has had the chance to witness one of Hailmary’s high-energy live shows, will know the upcoming string of album launches are not to be missed. Plus with the possibility of hearing some new material, it’s more than enough reason to go see what all the fuss is about.

When&Where: February 15 - Karova Lounge, Ballarat & February 21 - Barwon Club, Geelong

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POPULAR DEMAND YOU ASKED FOR IT

WE GOT IT!

We are sick of holdin’ the ol’ Reigns of Selection all by ourselves, so being the fair and democratic publication that we are, we asked our friends on Facebook which local bands they would like to see interviewed by Forte. We received a tonne of responses from you guys about both established and emerging bands that you want to us to speak with. With great pride, we now present to you, the long-awaited ‘By Popular Demand’ space, which should have been here meeting demands since the beginning of demands over twenty demand-filled years ago.

Kansas City Fagots

This week we caught up with the Kansas City Fagots for what has been possibly one of the most colourful interviews in Forte history.

Coming off the back of their support show for Bam Magera’s F**kface Unstoppable tour, the unique bunch of cowboys have asked if reader’s can please interpret responses with a deep-set Southern drawl. Forte would also like to ask our readers with sensitive eyes, to perhaps give this one a miss and see what’s going on on the next page.

The band name is a very unique one to say the least, can you tell us how it came about?

It could be a reference to a Mel Brooks film by the name of “Blazing Saddles” but in all likelihood it was the time that we had too much peyote in the small town of Odessa, Missouri and decided to get naked.

You seem to be quite an eclectic bunch of musicians, please introduce each member?

Well, first of all would be our drummer DB Spaulding. Originally the first surfer to come out of Rugsville County, Alabama, who has a penchant for tickling his own butthole with dunnybrushes. He is a wild man. Second cab off the rank is Charles “Chook” Norris. Guittarist extraordinaire??? With the body of a woman and the attitude of a lady. He wows the crowd with his sweet tones and dirty mouth. Last and in the pants least, we have “Long” Tom Gant, Who takes the ‘O’ out of country. He smells of liquor – him? and will make you question yourself in ways you never felt possible. But don’t let that put/pull you off, he is a live wire with a magicians tongue and a prostate to match You had several people asking for an interview with you in Forte, why do you think you appeal to the public?

We feel as though we put something back into our fans, the way they wish they could put something in each other. Think of Jake (Neville) Gyllenhaal and Heath (Evans) Ledger in that movie, we don’t really know what happened, but we imagined it was something really hot. That appeals to a lot of people…. Right?

You are a relatively new band, but have a cultlike following, do you see yourselves as cult leaders?

DB's f***** up face comes from a long line of cult heroes, our favourite being the time he lost seven parents to the dreaded “Kool Aid Massacre ®” in Jonestown and has a famous Uncle in Capt.

Spaulding to match. Gant is a distant relative of Tom Cruise and has had cult leader thrust

upon him. Chook Norris actually believes he is a necromancer and is convinced he can talk to Elvis. So, really this is a silly question.

What style of music do you play?

Style is something that we have found exceedingly difficult to comprehend; generally we try to express something as stylish as it is tolerable.

In our two gigs to date we have not been very successful in either of these endeavours.

You guys recently opened for Bam Magera, how was that? Were you on board the sea plane that crashed?

Fortunately we were not aboard the craft but we feel that our impromptu pile of man love steaming on the landing strip did impact upon those dramatic events. As for the gig itself we found that despite our lack of international celebrity we did manage to steal the show.

Reports suggest that there was some full frontal nudity at your recent show, is that something you aspire to incorporate in to all your gigs?

The nudity itself is not a planned part of the set, but due to our 8 weeks of playing music so far; we try to encourage better playing by demanding that any member who f**** up during a song must remove one item of clothing… turns out we have made quite a few errors in our first two sets. Amazingly fans have joined in the act in the world famous ‘Fagot’ salute, shedding layers and feeling the love since the first show.

What other bands are you guys feeling?

Is this question a bit tongue in cheek? We’d like to feel a lot of bands, but many of them aren’t quite as receptive as we’d like.

Some of the bands we would politely offer a reach around are as follows: Lawrence of A’Labia Midnight Johnson (Kinloch Troons) King Gizz(inmymouth)ard MurL(C)oc(K)s Fraser.A.Gorman(F.A.G) 1FishTwoFist Do you have a release in the works?

Depends on how hard you pull.

What’s next for the KCF? Hopefully that slow release you mentioned. Also accidental airtime as a national cricket sponsor. (If you don’t get that please unfriend us on facebook)

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GMEC Forte had the chance to chat with the infamous Andy Burns, musician and current Coordinator at Geelong’s GMEC. GMEC provides accredited courses in screen, media and sound production.

Taking admission applications this February, get in touch with GMEC and find out how you can further your knowledge and career within this competitive industry.

Hey Andy, we would love a brief run down on yourself and your background? I come from a musical family, a sister two brothers and even my son are all performers and composers. After starting young I performed a lot in my native New Zealand on guitar and then keyboards until in 1980 when I was asked to join a band in Sydney and brought myself and young family over to Australia. Since then I’ve been playing with a large number of great musicians in Sydney and then in Melbourne. My educational career began in 2003 when I was asked to become the inaugural music lecturer for JMC Academy in Melbourne. I then became Head of Music at CCAT then Head of Music at MWT Institute before finally starting here in beautiful Geelong at GMEC You are currently the Coordinator of GMEC, are you enjoying this position? Yes very much. As Coordinator of GMEC I take a proactive view over the entire organisation and make sure the quality of our courses is ahead of the rest in terms of it’s practicality, and it’s currency. I’m very lucky to have a fantastic bunch of professionals all of whom work in the private sector as well. They are all passionate about sharing the joys of the creative arts we teach, music, media, and sound.

A musician yourself, can you tell us about your history in the industry? I took up piano aged 4 always played by ear. Got to Grade 8 on cello at highschool, took up guitar at aged 10. Started playing gigs from year 9 in a rock cover band. In Australia I played in pop bands, The Vizard Show, theatre shows, many concerts, and lots of sessions and producing as well.

Rubbing shoulders with plenty of industry icons, can you tell us about some of the artists? In no particular order, Leon Berger, Barry Leef, Doug Parkinson, Normie Rowe, Jenny Morris, Digger Revell, Tom Jones, Thelma Houston, Eric Burdon, Bob Geldof, Steve Morse, and many more. Currently I gig and record with Fats Wah Wah and Madder Lake both original blues rock style bands.

How does your music experience help when working at GMEC? It means that the organisation is

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attuned to the needs of the creative person, be that in music, film and TV, or recording and producing. Also our trainers need someone who understands their passion, and can relate strongly to their subjects and give them feedback and suggestions for improvement.

It helps to speak their language...

What benefits do the courses at GMEC have?

How do the trainers improve the experiences of the students? GMEC has some of Geelong’s finest young and up and coming performers as trainers in the music department. We have the gun bass player Zac Barter teaching our Cert IV and Diploma of Music students along with the amazing young jazz pianist Kym Dillon. We also have sax player extraordinairre Ben Anderson. All these guys are in demand and out there doing it, not just talking about it. The music department is second to none in Geelong and I’m so proud to have them teaching for us. I lend a longexperienced depth to the courses as well.

Tell us about some aspects of the curriculum?

The music curriculum is tapping into the deep reserves of knowledge of jazz improvisation and advanced harmony of our jazz musician trainers and

myself. Things like how to solo over chords, using modes, altered scales, and odd time signatures are in the Diploma level. At Cert IV level it’s still all about improvisation, but we only use the blues scale and the majors and minors. You can get in to our Cert IV with an audition. You don’t need to know too much theory we want to teach it to you in such a way as it is fun and easy to understand.

What would you say a student can get out of their time at GMEC? GMEC has a great atmosphere it’s always buzzing with creative energy. In the building we have radio station 94.7 “The Pulse” broadcasting 24 hours/day, and our studios are always filled with people shooting videos with the green screen, or recording albums in our 32 trak proTools studio, or just editing their work in our Mac labs. A student can get a huge amount from rubbing shoulders with so many different disciplines and also getting into real world situations to learn from experience.

What is a point of difference GMEC can offer to other institutions? A student at GMEC gets to collaborate with other creative people doing different courses as part of their curriculum. All of our courses

are based on current industry consultations and expectations. Our media students are picked as crew for several live TV broadcasts that take place every week learning on the job. Likewise our sound and production crew do real indoor and outdoor PA setups as well as collaborating with our musicians to record songs. Also our trainers are all working out there in the real world and know first hand what employers want.

Anything you would like to add? Sure, I’d just like to mention our other trainers so they don’t get jealous of the music department... Alex Lau trains audio and sound production he has a successful studio in Melbourne. Blair Hall is a recording expert who also happens to be a great musician and live sound expert. Herbert Corona is a fantastic TV and film cameraman editor and producer who along with Bruce Walshe our highly experienced graphic artist and TV producer give our media students a big head start. Add them all in to the mix and you get a brilliant crew who are excited about this coming year’s courses and looking forward to seeing our new students in the next couple of weeks.

Pete Murray

By Cameron Brogden

Pete Murray is one of Australia’s favourite sons. His debut album, Feeler went sixtimes platinum, and the follow-up, See The Sun went four-times platinum in 2005. Two albums and eight years later, he’s back with an acoustic re-interpretation of his most recent album, Blue Sky Blue, dubbed The Byron Sessions, and to promote it, he’s on his first solo national tour.

guitar anyway, and all the songs they work well, just in a solo format. So it just seemed right, when myself and my mates started to talk about this upcoming tour...That’s how we came up with the concept of the album as well.”

“It’s a funny situation,” he said, when asked how a multi-platinum artist can go so long without touring solo. “I’ve been doing it a lot overseas, and I guess that’s been for financial reasons: It just makes a lot more sense to do it solo over there.”

“It all started when we sent a copy of Blue Sky Blue, an acoustic copy, to Natalie from Blue King Brown, and Natalie, her writing is - her rhyming, she rhymes a lot, she’s got a sort of a hip hop feel and flow to it - reggae kind of flow to it. If you’ve seen the video for Blue Sky Blue, the rhyming part that comes in at the end of the track is her work, and we got another girl called Fantine to do that part for us. So we sent the track away to her and she came back with this song. So for eighteen months, this song had been around, and I really liked what she did with it. So to me it was like ‘Let’s continue to do other songs with some other friends.’”

“I’ve kind of been holding off on it for a while, so that I can get to a level where it’s something different and new for me.” He went on. “And I haven’t really felt like I’ve needed to do it before. I guess every release I’ve had has been a band vibe, so I’ve needed a band to play the songs.This album, Blue Sky Blue, originally, the electric version, was recorded on an acoustic

Blue Sky Blue was different to what we’ve come to expect from Pete Murray, he was keen to explain the reasoning. “I felt at the time I had established myself as an acoustic artist, and I’d really just like to change and do something different. Blue Sky Blue was much in that electric feel and had more drive to it,” says Pete.

ME E T

So The Byron Sessions is just a return to the Pete Murray we know and love. “This album was just taking it back to the roots of where I was from anyway and not having any electric guitar on this album. So we’ve done in with the keys, acoustic, bass and drums, and letting the flavour come through, and also working with other some friends and getting them involved.

An acoustic interpretation, to us, seemed like the best way to go.”

The friends who recorded with him on the album include Busby Marou, Ash Grunwald as well as Darren Middleton and Bernard Fanning [both from Powderfinger]. Some of them could even be joining Pete on this tour, although he did seem a little cagey about specifics. “It just depends on people’s availability. I know that Darren Middleton, from Powderfinger, he’s going to come play a couple of tracks at The Corner when we play there, in Melbourne. But it just depends on availability for the guys, so I’m just going to ask them as they’re free to come and do something.”

He’s quite happy to be touring Australia again, there are a number of towns on this tour that he hasn’t played at in years, but he has some fond memories.

“I think the last time I played [Ballarat] was 2008, I think, on the Summer at Eureka Tour or whatever it was called...It’s good to get back to a few places on this tour,” Pete explains.

new addition to the tour, Pete’s also making a debut performance in Castlemaine at the Theatre Royal, and he’s fairly excited to be treading on new ground.

“I’ve actually heard that it’s a really great venue, so I’m definitely looking forward to going. Some of those old venues just have that great feeling. I think people go just for the venue sometimes as well... So I’m definitely looking forward to that. It just makes a show that much better when you’re in a classic old building. It just has a great feel. Maybe there’s a couple of ghosts hanging around.”

As for any new work from Pete, he’s got a lot on his plate with his first North American release this year, but he did have this to say - “I’m sort of writing it now.

This one - we did talk about doing this one as a new album and just having a few tracks that were done with other artists, but I just didn’t have it ready to go, so I kind of thought we’d do this one to give me some more time to work on the next one. But if I can, my aim is to record the new one by the end of this year, so if everything goes to plan, there should be another one coming out next year,” Pete concludes.

So whilst Pete might not be performing for his former posse of Nash regulars, be sure to get down to The Wool Exchange next month and show him he can still pull a huge crowd of Geelong fans.

“Geelong’s always great.,” he went on. “I have a really great following there, I remember doing The Nash, early on before things took off for me, before Feeler took off, and I still had a little independent following there. So it’s always been a good place to go for me, so I’m really looking forward to coming back.” A

ME @ MUR P HY S

When&Where: February 16 - The Wool Exchange, Geelong; March 8 - Theatre Royal, Castlemaine; March 14 - Regent Multiplex, Ballarat

Come for Dinner Stay for live

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ballarat column: Bam Margera’s F**kface Unstoppable.

Venturing to the venue around 10.30pm I honestly didn’t pay attention to the support acts, with Bam’s fame being more the point of having a ticket that night than for a true musical experience.

Karova Lounge, Ballarat

After the support acts finished around the 11:30 mark, there was still no sign of Bam and the crowd were becoming quite rowdy. I wanted to know what the hold-up was and asked security but they wouldn’t tell me what was going on. I asked a photographer that was getting around; they told me that Bam is apparently passed out at Irish Murphy’s. I asked a couple of techies who said they’d heard exactly the same thing so I sat at the bar and waited to see what crowd chaos would unfold if he was a no-show.

On Friday January 18, the little town of Ballarat was privileged enough to see the skater, stuntman and Jackass star, Bam Margera play The Karova Lounge with his band - F**kface Unstoppable.

Being a follower of his work from the early days of ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3’, ‘CKY videos’, ‘Jackass’ and ‘Viva La Bam’ I had with great pride, secured myself some tickets. One surprise first off the bat, was that despite my familiarity with his work, my expectations of the calibre of his musical talents were superseded.

Fortunately the chaos didn’t unfold. After a few false starts, Bam did eventually appear on stage.

Gathering at the front of the stage I was pleased to see members of CKY (I know it’s bad journalism but I hadn’t researched anything about F**kface Unstoppable) walk out and pick up instruments, it had me think that it might not be the ear-sore I thought it was going to be. Finally Bam appeared to introduce himself and get on with the already late show.

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Experienced Lead Guitarist Wanted. Top 40 Coverband. 70s 80s 90s and current. Based in Geelong. Must have commitment. Please Call Mark on 0438836469 or email at pudge_gypsy33@

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Must like 90’s British bands and not into songs your “normal” covers bands play.

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Age no barrier and male / female encouraged to contact. Contact Liam: britpopcovers@gmail. com or 0430904407 Band Members Wanted: Looking for band members

The real rough stuff didn’t start until about 2 songs in when the moshing became more about banging into each other; even then, that was very tame compared to other gigs I’ve been to. Some stage diving began, involving audience members and band members, one of the band members went flying almost overhead naked. I chose not to help him with that, the risk being an unwanted handful of another guy’s junk.

between the ages of 1619 years of age for pop group.Looking for bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals and synth player.

If interested, please contact 0417575237.

Hard Rock Covers Band with experienced, solid, bass player and drummer team requires guitarist with skill, awesome sound, and decent equipment. We have full rehearsal live room, pro gear, and all recording equipment.

Project will involve gigging, recording, and working on original material as well as edgy covers. Age no barrier, but must be directable team player and have own transport.

Carlos: 0409493521 Wanted: Male Vocalist, Two Guitarists Lead/ Rythm,Keyboard,Drummer to form an Original Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Band,Kevin Phone 0352757689, Email linnums@ optusnet.com.au Vocalist Wanted: Rock/alternative band, currently consisting of guitar, bass, drums.

In search of a clean vocalist preferably with experience. Influences: Tool, A Perfect Circle, Karnivool, 12 stones, Godsmack, etc. Contact Dean 0431067758

The lyrics were about what I’d expected. Bam likes to shock and his songs aim to do just that; the song titled ‘I wanna bend my d**k into my own a** so I can f**k myself’ is a prime example.

After their set, Bam left pretty much straight away, shaking hands with various audience members and eyes still glazed over from hopefully just the huge amount of alcohol he’d consumed prior to the show.

Singer For Rock Covers Band Needed.

New project that will incorporate some originals. We have large acoustically enhanced rehearsal room inc.

P.A and all recording equipment. Project will involve live gigs/shows, recording, and working on orginal material. Age no barrier, but must be team player with own equip and transport. Covering rock/ pop/grunge/hair-band/ glam. You will be working with experienced team.

Gig wise, it was a show to be involved with, not record and play while driving somewhere on a lazy Sunday. The audience were rough but not violent, the music was heavy but good, and the lyrics were..... there. My highlight would’ve been the Turbonegro cover of ‘All My Friends are Dead’ which goes to show how good the music was when a cover turns out to be the highlight.

BY DANIEL LOCK

Carlos: 0409 493521 Photographer Wanted for band photos. Semniprofessional ok. Call Josh 0430971319 Wanted, 40+ y.o.

Muso’s to form a fun Rock Band.

Bass, Drummer, Lead Guitar, Keyboards or other welcome. To play Classic Rock from the 70’s onwards. Call or Text Nick on 0408359821.

Geelong Vocalist Looking for guitarist, bass and drummer to form contemporary blues/ rock band. Experienced players required.Ph: Craig 0404054045 or email transform_pt@ yahoo.com.au Singer/songwriter looking for musicians to perform at festivals and venues drummer, bass player, guitarist & key boards player must be 40 years + must be experienced and professional please phone or email david 0417661299 davidwatson62@ y7mail.com Bass Player Wanted Or Guitarist to share Bass playing. We are a Friendly Bunch of 40 YO Boys who love our music and do 70’s rock and some originals. No pressure just dedications.

Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, ACDC, Bad CompanyStyle of Music..Please contact John: 0408179916 For Sale: Cort EVL-Z4 Electric Guitar. Great guitar for the beginner/ intermediate player who wants more bang for their buck! Fitted with two EMG humbuckers and set up with super low action.

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business

Hugo T Armstrong of The Blues Train

By Rebecca McIntyre

Enjoying a twenty-year career in any industry is a feat, but over two decades of success in the music industry is a rarity. Today we are experiencing a climate that sees live music challenged for viability more than ever before.

We caught up with founder and proprietor of the unshakeable Queenscliff Blues Train to talk about withstanding the elements and how Hugo’s travelling venue continues to remain on track.

For those of you yet to enjoy The Blues Train experience, it is a ride that departs Queenscliff Railway Station stopping four times on its journey, where at each stop revellers are encouraged to change carriages and enjoy one of the other masterful blues artists performing on board. The first of its kind in the world, it took an experienced industry connoisseur to get this unique concept up and running. That’s where Hugo T Armstrong fits into the picture. Beginning as a volunteer radio announcer with PBS 106.7FM in 1989, Hugo moved on to rub shoulders with the best of them. From his role as an Emcee at the Apollo Bay Music Festival, the Annual Melbourne Blues and Roots Festival and the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival to his career as a roots DJ at private parties for stars such as Elle Macpherson and Joe Cocker, Hugo has done what very few industry professionals successfully achieve – experience the world of live music from a plethora of different standpoints.

No one-trick pony, Hugo’s first hand involvement in the world of Australian Independent music, has bared him witness to a few major industry changes“The biggest change that I have seen is that independent or ‘indie’ artists can now transition well into mainstream music and the concept that major labels only work with major artists is gone.

Back then, they [independent & mainstream] really were two different worlds,” says Hugo. “Take John Butler Trio for example, that’s a blues artist who has crossed over successfully into mainstream and by doing so has piked an interest in the blues genre,” Hugo explains.

A second major factor Hugo attributes to the changing industry landscape and the ‘blurring’ of musical genres witnessed throughout his career is the uprising of the festival scene as a popular

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form of live music. From a local perspective especially, with Meredith, Golden Plains, Falls Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival and more on our doorstep, our likelihood of travelling to these annual music events and expanding our musical taste buds has increased dramatically. Hugo believes this has been critical in encouraging people to ‘broaden their horizons’ in terms of preferred musical genres, in the same way that cooking shows such as Masterchef or My Kitchen Rules have led to experimenting in the kitchen.

“People may not know that they like a lot of different sorts of music. Like some dub, and some reggae, and some blues, and some folk, and some country.

Festivals have demystified these genres for a lot of people which has left them a lot more open minded towards music than they used to be,” he explains.

Whilst the uptake in popularity of alternative music genres and the success of ‘indie’ artists within the mainstream music industry all seems like quite positive change, Hugo believes the current local live music scene is in its poorest ever condition.

An incredibly interesting standpoint considering this man is running one of the state’s biggest tourist attractions and one of Australia’s top live music venues. He explains - “I think the live music scene in Geelong is the worst I have ever seen it. I grew up in an era in Geelong where the amount of band venues was just unbelievable. But naturally, there are a huge amount of issues that go along with live music venues, and this is only made worse by bad legislation and licensing issues,” Hugo states. In our discussion of the current local scene we both came to one conclusion - the lack of a governing body of support for the industry is costing it dearly. Hugo drew on an interesting analogy about the automotive industry to describe the unprotected nature of live music - “During the economic recession the automotive industry has been protected because it employs people. If that theory were applied to live music then we would never let these venues be shut down... Any other industry would never let that sort of thing happen to something that employs thousands of people all year round.”

“Live music has survived because the festival scene has saved it,” Hugo states. The Blues Train currently experiences a clientele return rate of approximately 48% which is a figure that challenges and defeats almost every other major tourist attraction in the country. So how is it, that if live music venues are surrounded by adversity, and we are in the midst of a culmination of litigating factors which Hugo describes as the ‘the perfect storm’, The Blues Train still manages to revel in such success? “I guess we are closer to a tiny

one night music festival. We haven’t had to rely as heavily on being just a live music venue. Our uniqueness as well certainly. You get to see four live bands, get out on the train, and the other thing of course is that once we leave Queenscliff we aren’t upsetting anybody. I think that offers us some level of protection,” says Hugo.

In addition to individuality and running the venue in similar alignment to that of the festival model, the concept of ‘inclusive performance’ is also described

by Hugo as a key ingredient in the ‘recipe that works’. “Its about creating a culture and a totally unique experience, it involves people coming to Queenscliff for the weekend and enjoying what the town has to offer, despite perhaps [the Blues Train] just being the Saturday night component,”Hugo explains. It is the inclusive nature of The Blues Train and the sense of shared ownership of the attraction felt by the tourists, musicians and community alike that continues the venue’s success. This success in turn sees local business greatly rewarded as Blues Train audiences are recorded to have spent a staggering approximate of $1.742 million dollars in the Geelong and Bellarine area over the 20112012 period. This data confirms that under the right circumstances, the viability of running a live music

venue is unquestionable, and in addition, proves the potential of positive outcomes for not just the venue’s main stakeholder, but also the wider community.

Celebrating its 20th birthday in 2014, venturing on over 350 trips and travelling the equivalent of Queenscliff to Shanghai, China return, The Blues Train has well and truly cemented itself as an iconic local, state and national music venue for decades to come. For many people, it has put Queenscliff on the map. With world-firsts continuing on board, (Mr Black & Blues has just recorded his full LP on The Blues Train) Hugo implies big things for next year. In between his current curative role with the Echuca Winter Blues Festival and his work with the National Trust, a big Blues Train birthday celebration is in the works, and he encourages us to ‘watch this space’.

Hugo’s on-board and off-board success with The Blues Train goes to show that it’s still possible to take an adventurous idea off the beaten track and come up trumps. To find out more about The Blues Train experience or to embark on one of its ventures visit www.thebluestrain.com.au for more information.

The BBC Beta

PAKO FESTA A celebration of cultural diversity Saturday February 23 Thank you to Diversitat for providing some of the editorial material.

PHOTO By Trevor Pendock

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" A Celebration of cultural diversity" and embodies colour, culture and celebration.

In 2013, 34 communities will be represented: Afghan, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Congolese, Croatian, Dutch, Filipino, French, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Indian, Irish, Iranian, Italian, Karen, Karenni, Liberian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Maori, Nepalese, Polish, Scottish, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, South Sudanese, Ukrainian, Welsh, Zimbabwean and Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Op. Several communities, as well as taking part in the Parade, will set-up food stalls selling their cultural cuisine.

If one was to go looking for cultural diversity at its most vibrant the search for many would end at Pako Festa, the largest free celebration of cultural diversity in Australia.

Geelong is proud to call Pako Festa its own and as well it should be proud. The event, which attracts some 100,000 visitors, has taken place every year since 1983 with local and cultural communities, professional performers, community groups, schools, businesses, street traders and artists from all walks of life coming together in harmony. It is an event where people stand side by side. It is an event where words such as recognition, respect, acknowledgement, value, encouragement, empowerment and education shine brightest. It is an event full of rich reward where onlookers have as much to gain as those taking part.

Highlights are plentiful but perhaps the one that has the most scurrying for the best vantage point is the Pako Festa Street Parade. Some ninety floats and hundreds of performers representing tens of ethnic communities and around sixty other community groups and organisations make their way along the route. The parade starts at 11am

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Other highlights of Pako Festa include: back to back performances on five stages starting at 12noon; roving street performers; workshops, craft displays and kid’s activities; art exhibitions; a giant screen showcasing images and footage from the past; a smorgasbord of cultural food and Channel 7 stars from Home & Away. The little ones will be well taken care of with a variety of fantastic activities including Spanish story time and dance, Folktales from Faraway Lands, Wonders of the Boxy World and a Bananas in Pyjamas show.

The theme for 2013’s event is ‘Wonders of the World’ and for those who love a good happy-snap make sure you visit the Wonders of the World Wall in Albert Street to have your picture taken standing on the Great Wall of China, sitting in front of the Taj Mahal, putting your arm around a camel with the Egyptian Pyramids in the background or standing in front of the Colosseum Not only will it provide a great picture but it will be the smoothestrunning holiday you have ever been on.

For more than just a celebration, Pako Festa is an eye-opener to the beauty of the world. As their website states: “All you need to bring for a great day out is a happy heart and an open mind.” That shouldn’t be too hard. Pakington Street - February 23. For full information please visit pakofesta. com.au.

“Cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all of humanity.”

- Robert Alan.

PHOTOs By Trevor Pendock

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Face to Face with Pako Paintings What makes art diverse?

What makes diverse art?

National Wool Museum is the only venue to showcase ‘Faces of Diversity’ exhibition prior to its Italian tour.

The National Wool Museum and Geelong’s largest cultural diversity organisation Diversitat have joined forces to launch this year’s Pako Festa with the ‘Faces of Diversity: Arte’ Dall’Australia’ exhibition.

The exhibition is a result of a ten year partnership between Diversitat, local artists and Max Panero (a cultural entrepreneur from Turin) and will be on display for a short time from the 9th - 24th of February. This year, the exhibition will proudly launch Diversitat’s 31st Pako Festa.

Diversitat’s Luisa La Fornara says,” Diversity, in the widest sense, is an integral part of the artistic process.

These works are the ideal way to kick off Pako Festa because they celebrate difference, they push the ‘multicultural’ envelope and they’re

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a stunning reflection of the very contemporary nature of our region’s cultural conversation.”

The works from the exhibition will be touring venues around Italy throughout the year.

Pako Festa is Australia’s largest free celebration of cultural diversity and will take place on February 23 in Pakington Street, Geelong West.

Attracting over 100,000 visitors a year, Pako Festa includes a colourful parade, market stalls, performances and artworks by local community groups, schools, businesses, artists and traders.

‘Faces of Diversity: Arte’ Dall’Australia’ is on show at the National Wool Museum from 9 - 24 Febraury. The museum is located at 26 Moorabool Street, Geelong.

Entry fees to the exhibition is covered with museum entry - $4.00 per child (2-15 yrs), $7.50 per adult, $6.00 concession or just $25 per family (2 adults and up to 4 children).

The Museum is open 9.30am-5pm on weekdays and 10.00am-5.00pm on weekends.

Clockwise from top: Debra Jackson, Kitty Connors, Yvonne Paton, Raja Norzlipah and Janne Kearney

The Tastes of Pako Festa Food, glorious food!

Pako Festa is a food paradise. Lining the street and parks, cultural communities will serve up some of their country’s best dishes. Even those with a fickle diet are sure to find something. The food will fill the air with a hundred flavours as the smells of Indian vegetarian samosas, Greek souvlaki, Spanish paella, and traditional Macedonian pastries tease your senses. Best you wear something a little loose around the waist. Let’s have a little look at some of the treats on offer…

The Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-op: Kangaroo Kebabs. A kebab with an Aussie flavour that is hard to beat. Also try the Kangaroo Burger.

Filipino: Inihaw pork skewers. They have made the same dish for Pako Festa for the past 30 years so you know it is a real winner.

Polish: Traditional Pierogi (Dumplings).

Choose between sweet cabbage, sauerkraut, onion and minced pork or veal or potato, cheese, onion and bacon.

Macedonian: Mince meat skinless sausages for starters and a selection of Macedonian sweets to finish things off.

Slovenia: Slovenian Kranjski Sausage barbequed and boiled; Sauerkraut Slovenian style; Potica Slovenian National Cake.

Serbian Youth Club: Try a homemade pastry filled with cheese, meat and onion or if you have a sweeter tooth, cherries.

Croatian: Chevapi Rolls, Raznjici Rolls (diced pork with herbs and spices) and a selection of traditional cakes.

Iranian: Traditional Persian kebabs.

Indonesian: Rendang, Chicken curry, Curry puffs.

Maori: Traditional Hangi

PHOTO By Trevor Pendock

That should give you a good idea of the goodies you can look forward to. If you’re not feeling too adventurous, that is okay. There will be plenty of options including hot potatoes, salads, slices, pies and pastries to fill your belly. As they say though, variety is the spice of life and you may just discover your new favourite dish.

Sharing food has long been a way for people from different cultures to create and sustain a bond with others so break some bread today. Hit up pakofesta.com.au for further information.

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Announcing the official

FREE

Pako Festa event app!

Don’t miss your opportunity to know about all the events, the great pako parade, where to see the Channel 7 stars and discover a culinary delight with the street lined with food stalls. You can even create your own schedule for the day so you don’t miss your favourite musical acts and cultural dance groups!

Visit www.pakofesta.com. au, or scan the QR code below, to download your free Pako Festa app for iOS and Android thanks to the local development team at Codeacious.

Michael Martinez Forte caught up with Michael Martinez, the CEO of Diversitat Geelong and proud contributor of Pako Festa 2013. Michael was kind enough to answer some of our questions and give us an indepth look at Diversitat and the running of this year's event.

Diversitat is very important to the Geelong region, can you explain its function - for those who are not aware?

Diversitat is our local peak multicultural organisation with over 40 affiliated ethnic communities and in 2012 the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative also joined us. In addition to our Immigration and Settlement Services we deliver programs to the wider community specialising in Youth Programs and an extensive training department which is the largest Adult Community Education Provider in the state.

In January of 2011 we opened our new $5M Community Hub in Norlane located on 5 acres adjacent to the Filipino, German and Spanish Clubs on the site of the old migrant hostels, the Hub is recognised nationally as a model, in March of last year we hosted a delegation of 40 representatives from the UNHCR representing over 14 countries. We have completed the building

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of a Men’s Shed and Activities centre on site in 2012. Our community garden is growing increasingly popular with our refugee and migrant communities.

We understand some people have been involved in every year of the Festival, are their any people that stand out as being stalwarts of Pako Festa?

With over 200 full and part staff, 120 casuals and 600 volunteers we are a small but innovative organisation which is Geelong grown and owned.

There are many ethnic groups and individuals who have been to all or close to all Pako Festas we congratulate all communities for their commitment over the past 31 years

Why do you think the Pako Festa tradition is so strong and successful in the Geelong community?

Your job must be so rewarding, how do you manage working with so many diverse groups to make sure there all represented on a day like Pako Festa?

It is owned by the Geelong community and has grown from its beginnings over 30 years ago.

The 3 original partners of the ethnic communities council, the Geelong West Traders and Local Government are all at the core of the success of Pako Festa. It’s in the street and it’s real.

In what ways do you think the Pako Festa is important to Geelong?

It is the only festival in Geelong which celebrates our cultural heritage in such a unique, dynamic and inclusive way. For the ethnic communities it’s an important fund raising day and also the day we they can share their food, music and dance with the whole community.

The organisation of an event like Pako Festa is a massive undertaking, tell us about the workload and the people involved?

Luisa La Fornara is the Event Director and Luisa is assisted by an able group of paid staff and volunteers. Her team include Frank O’Neil, Dani Salvo, Jessica Costa, Barry Sproull, Lisa Schneider, Cathy Harper, Heather Rodgers. In addition we have over 40 Diversitat staff and over 40 volunteers from the general community help out on the event day.

We have a great team of staff and volunteers and the festival is owned by the people of Geelong so we don’t have difficulties making sure all participate and enjoy.

What is lined up for this Pako Festa to ensure it is the best yet?

We have developed an new mobile app for the event which showcases the local communities and their involvement either through the street parade, stage performances and food and craft stalls! The app will ensure you don’t miss any of the action as it outlines all the free activities and the full stage program!

Would you like to add anything else?

We would like to thank our Naming Right BCC Computers and Betta Home Living and our Major Sponsors Channel 7, City of Greater Geelong and the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Geelong West Traders and most of all our local cultural communities for their ongoing support of this important celebration!

By Luke McNamara

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The Kite Machine The Mojo Corner 4.00pm Petrel Stage

www.facebook.com/mojocorner | www.myspace.com/themojocorner

When most teenagers in the 1990’s were listening to bands like Guns & Roses and Metallica, the boys found their passion lay in the world of blues.

They asked the questions; How does John Lee hooker get that boogie?

Where was Aretha Franklin getting her power and soul from? They dug the dirt, found the diamonds……rough, uncut but full of intensity. This intensity shines through in their original songs, influenced by their everyday experiences. Dan on vocals, Rory on harp, Johhny on guitar, Shaun on bass and Mark on the drums. The Spirit is alive in the Mojo Corner!

1.00pm Barking Dog Stage The Kite Machine is a Geelong/Melbourne based band that manufactures semi-acoustic funk rock, resonating somewhere between the sounds of John Butler Trio and the Black Keys.

Singer/songwriter/guitarist, Levi Anderson, together with Ev Smith on bass and Kane Sheriff on drums have recently released their well received debut EP – “The Crook & The Skank”. Cleverly crafted songs matched with rhythmic lead guitar; punchy bass lines and smooth drum grooves, produce a dynamic sound and an energetic live performance.

Undoubtedly a must see outfit.

Grand Soul Audio 2.00pm Barking Dog Stage www.grandsoulaudio.com.au Grand Soul Audio is a nine-piece band whose influences date back to the 60’s and 70’s Funk, Soul and Motown era. The genre of music originated from the blues players and gospel singers of the 30’s, 40’s and even the 50’s.

Musicians like Bobby Byrd, Screaming Jay Hawkins and of course the legendary James Brown were just a few that revolutionized the black music of the day. With a continuous backbeat and an emphasis on the ONE this new style of groove became one of the music wonders of the world. To quote the Godfather of Soul, Mr James Brown, when told his music doesn’t make sense, he said and I quote “But does it feel good?”

Corten 3.00pm Petrel Stage Corten is a Geelong based six piece cover band. They recently formed from a group of mates who got together to jam for some fun. Having a male and female vocalist allows for an eclectic mix of classic and modern rock tunes.

Dog Gone South Rory Ellis

1.00pm Petrel Stage www.reverbnation.com/doggonesouth

Nicolette Forte 6.00pm West Town Hall Drawing inspiration from other soulful singer/songwriters such as Tracy Chapman, Nicollette Forte is armed with a voice as emotive as it is beautiful. But, it is her generosity of spirit that serperates Nicolette from the rest. An instinctual performer, Nicollette connects with the crowd in a way that sees many feel an instant kinship with the songstress, so powerful are the emotions her songs engender. A majestic new composer that you simply must see and hear for yourself.

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Three piece cookin’ blues acoustic trio drawing influences from Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Big Bill Broonzy, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, John Lee Hooker, Elvis Presley, Dutch Tilders and others.

Dave ‘Dog Gone’ Dorman (vocal/guitar) is joined by accomplished musicians Chris ‘Harpo’ Canning on harmonica, and Greg ‘Fingers’ Southall on guitar. Together they produce their own brand of blues that is appreciated and applauded by their audiences. Formed in early 2011, they have played on the same bill as Geoff Achison and The Souldiggers, Lloyd Spiegel, Chris Wilson and the gigs keep on coming….

Karavana Flamenca

2.00pm Petrel Stage www.roryellis.com

4.30pm (45 mins) Diversitat stage

Rory Ellis puts the ‘Alt” back into Alt Country music. The highly charismatic song writer has six internationally acclaimed albums a voice that will command the hair on your arms to stand up. Rory performs songs that are honed in hard miles, often upbeat, heartfelt, and humorous and always a great story behind them. This brilliant duo also includes legendary artists Dave Steele on everything acoustic and electric.

Karavana Flamenca plays a fiery mix of Spanish Gypsy (rumba flamenca) traditional flamenco and Cuban and Moorish music. The heartwrenching melodies from the oud and Spanish/ Romany vocals and the upbeat rhythms of the percussion, bass and rhythm guitar make a gypsy fiesta of every performance. This style flamenco is played on the street and danced with bare feet!

Pako Festa Playing Times Barking Dog Stage 1.00PM - 2.00PM

The Kite Machine

2.00PM - 3.00PM

Grand Soul Audio

3.30PM -12.00AM

DJs in venue

Petrel Hotel Stage 1.00PM - 1.45PM

Dog Gone South

2.00PM - 2.45PM

Rory Elis

3.00PM - 3.45PM

Corten

4.00PM - 4.45PM

The Mojo Corner

Cloud 9 Stage 12.30PM - 3.30PM

Fig Jam

4.00PM - 7.00PM

Good Faces For Radio

7.00PM - 11.00PM

R n B & Dance DJs

Diversitat Stage 4.30PM - 6.30PM

Karavana Flamenca (Closing Act)

West Town Hall 6.00PM - Onwards Pako Festa Afterparty :

Nicolette Forte

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FORTE FOCUS

By Brendan Dando

HAVE YOUR SAY! Email us at editorial@ fortemag.com.au

SOCIAL MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY We live in the digital age, a time where online content like videos and music have never been so easily produced, distributed and accessed by people all over the world. Fortunately the music industry has learned to evolve in a way that incorporates the power of social media, realising that the public have changed the way they listen to, share and discover their music.

Some may argue that social media is what’s keeping our music scenes in Geelong and Ballarat alive. Local bands now have the ability to self-promote on social networks to build a core fanbase, resulting in getting people to their gigs. Also, community radio stations such as Geelong’s 94.7 The Pulse and Ballarat’s 99.9 Voice FM, both of which have a number of musicbased programs dedicated to supporting local music, can now be streamed and listened to online anywhere in the world.

Despite all of these positives that have been brought to our current music scene, owner of ‘Spinning Half’, Geelong’s premier Events and Music services business, Mr. Steve Nichols believes they can also be a detriment . “[Social media] has already been clogged up with too much promotion. Group and fan pages, Instagram, Twitter, it all becomes a bit too much,” he explains. “The key is to find the happy medium between informative posts and spam.”

This simplicity of connecting with an audience, has resulted in a number of artists being ‘discovered’ in a way that would have been almost impossible 20 years ago. The most watched and most popular video sharing site in the world is YouTube, surpassing 2 billion video views per day in 2010. Every 60 seconds, 24 hours of video are being uploaded onto YouTube, with around 20% of their total uploads being music videos.

Along with other music and video sharing sites, YouTube has contributed to the sudden and extended popularity of many artists. In 2012, songs such as ‘Gangnam Style’ and ‘Call Me Maybe’ went viral within hours, creating overnight stars out of Psy and Carly Rae Jepsen. The video clip for ‘Gangnam Style’ alone

has had over 1.2 billion views since its debut last July, and ‘Call Me Maybe’ became the highest selling worldwide single of 2012. However when it comes to discussing social media’s influence on a musician’s career, it’s hard to look past Justin Bieber.

Although he now operates the most popular Twitter account in the world with over 33 million followers, Bieber was originally discovered by his now manager Scooter Braun by uploading homemade videos of himself singing onto YouTube. Three years later, he has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and has now been credited to the uprising of Twitter alongside Lady Gaga.

Another perfect example of a musician who has capitalized on the power of social media, is Australian hip hop star 360. With over 450,000 Facebook followers, he updates his page on a daily basis, interacting directly with his diehard fans. “I think I’ve developed more of a personal connection with my fanbase through social media. However my music speaks for itself, if it wasn’t good then the people wouldn’t get into it.” Taking full advantage of Facebook’s lack of a language filter, the ‘Boys Like You’ star is no stranger to posting comments which many may deem inappropriate. “I want to set a good example, but at the same time I’m going to be myself. I’ll be outspoken and use swear words that will probably piss a lot people off and shit,” he admits, “I’ve definitely become more cautious of it though, since I have such a young fan base.”

Social media has helped spawn many new careers, however its ability to eliminate the middle man in regards to promotion can also have a negative effect on local advertising businesses. A band no longer has a need to pay for an advertisement if they have a large enough following on their social networks, as they can simply inform their fans with the click of a button. Facebook noticed this trend and are now charging page admins to ‘promote’ their more important posts, as a regular post no longer reaches all of their followers. Former Head of Sony PR and owner of ‘On The Map PR’, Emily Cheung explains the potential backlash this may inflict on Facebook in the future. “This sneaky little moneymaking exercise has seen many big name international artists boycott Facebook and use only Twitter.” With years of experience in the industry, dealing with stars such as Slash and The Foo Fighters, the former ‘My

Kitchen Rules’ contestant believes social media has yet to hit its stride. “It’s rather novel that a fan can directly ‘talk’ with their favourite band/ artist by tweeting a message and often receiving a reply!” she explains enthusiatically, “Tweets are the modern day ‘fan mail’, and a simple tweet back from an artist is much easier than sitting down and writing a return letter, the old school method to communicate between fans and bands!”

It is also becoming more common now for record labels and venue bookers to determine the popularity of a band by how many ‘likes’ their Facebook page has, a fact which Spinning Half’s Steve Nichols is not exactly proud of. “In my position as a venue booker yes, unfortunately ‘likes’ do have an impact on my search for new acts, but not so much on the listening side. I will always have a listen to new music.” The only down point of this is that bands can now purchase ‘likes’ from a number of auto-generating websites, which can give an unclear perception of the size of a band’s fanbase.

As Emily Cheung says, it is more important to look at the “talking about” statistic of a page. “A band may have 15,000 fans on Facebook, but only 100 people ‘talking about’ them, which then makes me assume the band has in fact paid for most of their ‘likes’,” she reveals, “If a band has 2,000 people ‘talking about’ them, I’d definitely be interested to jump online and find some of their music to listen to, to see what the hype is about! Having come from a major label, I believe it’s our business for everyone in the industry to know which bands are generating a buzz.”

Our industry has been impacted by social media in many ways. Those who don’t understand how to use it will always point out the flaws, but those who can utilize its strengths will continue to think outside the box. Although like everything it comes with a price, with many people now arguing it is now too easy for someone to upload their music and ‘think’ they’re a musician. That’s something everyone must decided for themselves, but for now let’s just enjoy the flurry of amazing local music that social media has allowed our hard-working musicians to showcase.

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Steve Mini of Nitro Circus

By Rebecca McIntyre

Gearing up for the first leg of the fourteen cities Regional Oz tour, we caught up with Nitro Circus star Steve Mini about turn down whips, drinkin’ beers and life in Mudgee. Plus what the madman of freestyle motocross has in store for us in the upcoming Nitro Circus Live show at Simmonds Stadium.

Whilst my experience with a motorbike begins and ends with my brothers and I jumping the irrigation channels on one small Pee-Wee 50 on my grandparents farm, I simply could not pass up the opportunity to chat with professional motorbike rider and seasoned Nitro Circus performer, Steve Mini. All you need to do is You Tube his crazy antics and you’ll be online buying yourself tickets to the upcoming show.

Fresh off the back of the record-breaking Nitro Circus Live European tour we had a chat with Steve from his home base in Mudgee, New South Wales, where between tours he spends time riding his bike, hanging out with his fiance Kalya, and occasionally blowing off the odd Journo for a massage. And why not? The guys just tore down Europe with 13 sold

Ruby Boots

By Xavier Fennell

Ruby Boots should be known as the ‘Band on the Road’, or perhaps something that sounds slightly more crafty and intelligent. Country/ blues/bluegrass band who celebrated quick success with their single ‘Wise Up’ in 2012 create songs with a soulful, human feel and the twang of country that scratches into your heart.

When I spoke to Bex, the creator and singer of this musical collective, they had literally just begun their new tour throughout Australia, with little rest between upcoming shows and her recent visit to blues cultured Nashville and Memphis.

Now from the blues filled streets of America’s South, Bex and the rest of Ruby Boots find themselves in the 46-degree heat of Illawarra. Prior to Bex’ visit of America’s south, the band in full toured the East Coast. Speaking to Bex, allowed me a chance to find out a little bit more about the band’s travels and success in past years, as well as how such a band comes about in this day and age.

It’s safe to say that country/blues music isn’t the most popular music amongst young people these days, with their Nicki Minajs’ all over the wireless.

I wanted to know how Bex had come into the genre she is now heavily a part of and how Ruby Boots came to be – “When I started writing music, I was kind of writing traditional country and a bit of folk music. Looking back now though, I kind of forgot what I’d grown up on but lately I’ve been doing a bit of reflecting and I was around that kind of music

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out shows in 18 days, we can excuse the guy for needing a massage.

When I asked Steve about the European tour I expected to hear some wild tales of drunken antics across London, Manchester and Birmingham. But instead Steve explained, that back-to-back shows left little time for parties. “On all the other previous tours we would go out partying together most nights. But the European tour was just too busy. Usually on tour we would do a show on maybe a Friday and Saturday night, then we would have a whole week to recover. But this tour we did shows practically every day,” Steve recalls.

Splintering winter in Europe also took a toll on the bodies of the huge cast of forty athletes Steve explains, with most riders having injuries that were exacerbated by the cold weather and hectic schedule of the short tour. “Some of the shows you really had to force yourself to get in there and have a go,” Steve speaks openly, “But in saying that it was totally worth it, all the shows were unreal, and I am pretty sure they were all sold out, so it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Listening to Steve describe the relationships between himself and the guys on tour, you can’t help but feel a sort of ‘Lords of Dogtown’ brotherhood is going on, just

substitute some of the skate boards for motorbikes, shopping trolleys, Eskys and boogie boards. And, like the influential skaters in the infamous biographical classic, the Nitro Circus team have also played a hugely revolutionary role in their sport.

Steve explains that after six to seven years on tour with most of the guys, countless amounts of beers, and the shared passion for “doing backies” on their motorbikes you simply become best mates. Fellow freestyle motocross rider Blake Williams (also known as Bilko) is even set to act as Best Man at Steve’s wedding at the end of the year. So we must ask, with so much manlove and motorbike action, where do the women fit in to the picture? Steve explains - “Kalya [fiance] comes away on tour most of the time and hangs out with the other girlfriends and they all watch. I’m sure it scares the shit out of them most of the time, but well, we aren’t going to stop doing it,” Steve laughs.

In-sync with the lifestyle, Steve describes the ‘weird thing’ the pair have going on - “Whenever I have a big crash she always knows what’s coming. I had a big one last year and she thinks she knew that it was coming.

So if I keep an eye on her as I am riding I can always tell if she thinks that I am going to crash because she will have her head down. And that always freaks me out,” he laughs.

Whilst leading what us normal folk would consider a lifestyle fairly similar to that of rock-stardom - with the tours, the parties, and the band of stunning groupy girlfriends - Steve says one of the things the guys are looking forward to most about the Australian tour is the

chance to get back to a few of the Aussie blokes’ home towns and do some good old fashioned dirt bike riding.

Talking about taking a few of the boys back to Mudgee around the time of the Newcastle show, Steve tells me - “ It’s a fifteen week tour, so the guys that come over are going to be here for a long time. Normally in the past the closer we get to each Australian’s home we usually get people to stay over and we will have a week taking them out to different local spots, sort of just to give them something new to do.”

For what will be Steve’s first time back in Geelong since riding at the Annual Show almost six years ago, and what will be Nitro Circus’ first time ever in the city, Steve promised to expect plenty from the recently renovated live show. “There will be a few new athletes that haven’t been to Australia before, and new tricks come out every year. When a guy comes out with something new they pretty much get signed up for the tour. The whole show has had a bit of an overhaul so it will be exciting even for the people that have gone to see Nitro perform in the past. Non stop action,” he laughs.

Catch Steve on his Kawasaki KX 450 performing turn down whips (a trick that is loved, loathed and feared all in one package) and all other sorts of crazy antics with the Nitro Circus Crew on the upcoming regional Australia tour. For more information on how to land yourself tickets to a Nitro Circus Live show visit http:// nitrocircuslive.com/australian-regional-tour-2013 When&Where: Wednesday, March 20 – Simmonds Stadium Geelong

all the time. It just felt really natural with the instrumentation of the band. From what I remember there was a lot of Dolly (Parton) and a lot of Buddy Holly,” says Bex. From the musical surroundings of her youth, Bex quickly became involved in the scene around Perth – “I was really heavily involved in many projects on the local scene at the time, always talking to someone about something and the crew heard and liked a bit of my stuff and we got together and became Ruby Boots.”

I was struggling to comprehend with how one could come up with such a band name - Perhaps a Wizard Of Oz type fantasy? I couldn’t be more wrong - “I was really stuck for a band name, I was always looking through books and magazines for random words and stuff like that. One day I was cleaning out my wardrobe and I threw out a ridiculous amount of red boots. So it’s footwear and addiction inspired,” Bex laughs.

Once a band comes up with its name, it seems only natural that they should start playing gigs, and Ruby Boots certainly have played some gigs: Laneway and Big Day Out to name a few. Ruby Boots new line of gigs has just kicked off from January 18 at the Illawarra Folk Festival and finishing February 9 at the at The Workers Club – “We’re playing in Geelong soon, at Beav’s bar with Grizzly Jim Lawry and we’re looking forward to that and we just played Queenscliff (music festival) in September and we really like that vibe down there so we’re keen to get back down to that part of Victoria,” Bex finishes.

When&Where: February 7 - Beav’s Bar, Geelong

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tweet of the week

THE INSIDE SPLINTERS

hot 100

of 2012.

There’s not much else we’re going to say about the Hottest 100 result aside from this; Realise quickly whether Triple J is even an apt representation of yourself, your views and music tastes, and then attack it, hammer and tong. Or, do what we’ve been doing for years in Splinters and create your own.

We know our Pop Music here and we’re also quite partial to the Rave. Our 100 favourite songs of 2012 may be more on the Pop Side but trust us when we say there’s more Pop-that-sounds-likeDance-Music on this list than you could poke a stick at, so in some alternate reality everybody wins.

Here are our 100 favourite songs of the year 2012, may she Rest in Peace.

74. J USTIN BIEBER ft. NICKI MINAJ ‘Beauty & A Beat’

50. C RYSTAL CASTLES ‘Sad Eyes’

75. K ATHY GRIFFIN ‘I’ll Say It (Miami Mix)’

51. F LORRIE ‘Shot You Down’

76. R IHANNA ‘Diamonds’ 77. K ATY PERRY ‘Part Of Me’

01

05

Girls Aloud returned in 2012 to celebrate 10 years in the game, and after three years away from the charts it’s nice to know that they can still come along at the end of the year, grab a series of wigs that represent each of your faves pop careers, and then proceed to intensively mop the floor with them ratchet-arse weaves. A career pinnacle.

The first winner of Eurovision in a number of years to breathe some life and excitement back into the competition.

This song was a true revelation.

53. C HER ‘Woman’s World’

02

MADONNA ‘Gang Bang’

Madonna on a shooting rampage amidst a backdrop of early 2000’s German Hard Trance.

03

Freakish lyrics, beautiful song.

04

GIRLS ALOUD ‘Something New’

See? Just look at them slaying.

And now for the rest...

11. VAN SHE ‘Sarah’ 12. W ILLAM ft.

VICKY & DETOX ‘Chow Down’ 13. M ADONNA ‘I’m Addicted’ 14. T HE GOSSIP ‘Move In The Right Direction’ 15. D ELTA GOODREM ‘Dancing With A Broken Heart’

06

SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM ‘Really Want To See You Again’

The Miss Connie solo album is on its way.

07

FLORRIE ‘To The End’

08

CHRISTINA AGUILERA ‘Your Body’

And the lyric of the year goes to: “I think you already know my name.”

09

M.I.A. ‘Bad Girls’ M.I.A. serving up actual Burqa Swag.

10

GIRLS ALOUD ‘On The Metro’

SLAYING.

29. SOLANGE ‘Losing You’

39. K ATY B ‘Light As A Feather’

19. W HIGFIELD ‘Stay In My Head’

30. DESTINY’S CHILD vs CYRIL HAHN ‘Say My Name’

40. IAMAMIWHOAMI ‘Goods’

20. CASSIE ‘King Of Hearts’

31. SAINT ETIENNE ‘Over The Border’

21. KE$HA ‘C’mon’

32. M ARINA & THE DIAMONDS ‘Lonely Hearts Club”\’

22. M ARINA & THE DIAMONDS ‘Fear & Loathing’ 23. A ZEALIA BANKS ft. LAZY JAY ‘212’ 24. M ADONNA ‘Girl Gone Wild’

33. PARRALOX ‘Sharper Than A Knife 2012’ 34. O NE DIRECTION ‘I Would’ 35. KELLY CLARKSON ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’

16. L ANA DEL REY ‘Off To The Races’

25. IAMAMIWHOAMI ‘Kill’

17. P URPLE CRUSH ft. MADONNA ‘Reductive (Look It Up)’

26. 2NE1 ‘I Love You’

36. DAVID LIM ‘Not Around’

27. RUPAUL ‘Responsitranity’

37. WILLAM ‘Love You Like A Big Schlong’

18. S AINT ETIENNE ‘Tonight’

28. L ANA DEL REY ‘Burning Desire’

38. J OHN ROWLEY ‘Guilt Trip’

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55. L ANA DEL REY ‘Ride’ 56. USHER ‘Climax’ 57. J -LO ft. PITBULL ‘Dance Again’

Powerful pop music from Xenomania’s house-drummer.

54. L ADY GAGA ft.

ZEDD ‘Stache (High Princess)’

41. V AN SHE ‘We Move On’ 42. P URPLE CRUSH x JOSH PEACE ‘Little Bitch’ 43. K ATY B ft. JESSIE WARE ‘Aaliyah’ 44. M ADONNA ft.

NICKI MINAJ ‘I Don’t Give A’ 45. T AME IMPALA ‘Elephant’ 46. VAN GO LION ‘When The Truth Hurts’ 47. P RINCESS SUPERSTAR ‘Push You Away’ 48. B RUNO MARS ‘Locked Out Of Heaven’

58. K REAYSHAWN ft. KID CUDI ‘Like It Or Love It’ 59. I CONA POP ft.

CHARLI XCX ‘I Love It’ 60. P ERTA MARKLUND ‘Handerna Mot Himlen’ 61. N O DOUBT ‘Looking Hot’ 62. N ECKI MENIJ & FRIENDS ‘Scram & Shit’ 63. M ARINA & THE DIAMONDS ‘Power & Control’ 64. R EDLIGHT ‘Lost In Your Love’ 65. T AYLOR SWIFT ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’

78. L ANA DEL REY ‘National Anthem’ 79. H AIM ‘Don’t Save Me’ 80. T AYLOR SWIFT ‘Holy Ground’ 81. T HE SATURDAYS ‘30 Days’ 82. M ARINA & THE DIAMONDS ‘State Of Dreaming’ 83. R OISIN MURPHY ‘Simulation’ 84. P ANDORA BOXX ‘Nice Car (Shame About Your Penis)’ 85. D EMI LOVATO ‘Give Your Heart A Break’

WILLAM, DETOX & VICKY Willam & the gals’ new parody of Alicia Keys’ “Girl On Fire” is an absolute YouTube viral riot.

ALASKA THUNDERFVCK 5000 We’ve never seen anybody perform Lil’ Kim’s “How Many Licks” quite like Alaska.

THE LACK OF FEMALE ARTISTS IN THE TRIPLE J HOTTEST 100’S TOP 10 Thankfully, the Inside Splinters Hot 100 of 2012 comes with an entirely Female Top 10 and serves as a nice little antidote for those of you feeling somewhat unrepresented in the chart.

THE JACKSON’S TOUR OF AUSTRALIA

87. B OOTY LUV ‘Black Widow’

LINDSAY LOHAN

88. D RAGONETTE ‘Run Run Run’ 89. A LEXANDRA STAN ‘Lemonade’ 90. RUPAUL ‘Drag U’ 91. KE$HA ‘All That Matters’ 92. V AN SHE ‘Beat Of The Drum’

67. M NDR ‘#1 In Heaven’

94. N O DOUBT ‘Push & Shove’

68. RICKI-LEE ‘Crazy’

95. K REAYSHAWN ‘Left Ey3’ 96. A ZEALIA BANKS ‘1991’ 97. L EONA LEWIS ‘Glassheart’ 98. GRIMES ‘Oblivion’

71. A ZEALIA BANKS ‘Esta Noche’

99. MADONNA ‘Love Spent’

72. G ARBAGE ‘Big Bright World’

100. MUSCLES ‘Boys Become Men’

73. D RAGONETTE ‘Ghost’

Debut album “PG-13” is a triumph.

Why they’re bothering to come without La Toya is a mystery to us as well.

93. W HIGFIELD ‘4ever’

70. S KY FERREIRA ‘Everything Is Embarrassing’

SHARON NEEDLES

86. K YARY PAMYU PAMYU ‘Fashion Monster’

66. N ELLY FURTADO ‘Parking Lot’

69. C ARLY RAE JEPSEN ‘Call Me Maybe’

HIT OR SHIT!

fin.

“Liz & Dick” is an absolute trainwreck and poor Li-Lo doesn’t seem to be too dissimilar herself.

We take it that third album is never happening then?

SHIT!

MARINA & THE DIAMONDS ‘Valley of the Dolls’

LOREEN ‘Euphoria’

@ANTmusik offers up a platter of All T and All Shade for poor Kellendria’s latest musical offering.

HIT

49. T AYLOR SWIFT ‘We Are Never Ever Etc’

52. M ARINA & THE DIAMONDS ‘Teen Idle’

GIRLS ALOUD ‘Every Now & Then’

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“ Kelly Rowland has a new song called ‘Number One’.

Oh the irony.”

THE CITY LIGHTS MELBOURNE

The City Lights: We built this city on rock and roll. Coming up you have…

55 shows in Germany. His current single ‘Hey Make Believer’ is taking him around the country. Wesley Anne - February 23.

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Legs 11 with Something with Numbers

PVT Show their Human Side

Like “the boys” in the Thin Lizzy song, New South Wales outfit Something with Numbers are back in town. You may have heard their new track ‘We Kill the Weekend’. The single is a wee taste of their forthcoming new album Eleven Eleven, an album so good they named it twice. The album was recorded with the familiar face of Lachlan Mitchell who helped them out with their 2004 debut full-length, Etiquette.

NSC - February 15.

Homosapien, the fourth album from transcontinental band PVT, drops on February 8. The trio, based in Sydney and London, is what happens when two brothers (Richard and Laurence Pike) and a mate (Dave Miller) have nothing better to do than make music. Sweet, sweet music. Oh yeah, the band was originally called Pivot until another band went ‘no, no, we’ll be having none of this’ or something to that effect. The Corner - March 23.

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A Fat Tuba Skinny Tour In 2009 Tuba Skinny brought back the sound of Dixieland jazz to the smoky club limelight. The vocals of Erika Lewis - who belts it out like Mae West - play out over brassy swing, ragtime and depression-era blues. Together with Todd Burdick, Bobby Browne, Shaye Cohn, Barnabus Jones, Robin Rapuzzi and John Doyle, the seven-piece has brought back the swingin’ style of a bygone era. Their new album is Rag Band. Spiegeltent - March 17. .........................................................................

Hello Norma Jean It has been five years since metalcore heavyweights Norma Jean last did the Australian rounds. That is a little longer than their Aussie fans would have liked but the band will do their best to make up for lost time when they drop by later in the year. Formed in 1997 the band is widely regarded as a pioneer of the metalcore movement. They will be joined by Boston’s Vanna and Newcastle’s Safe Hands. The Corner May 5. .........................................................................

Brett Winterford is a Believer Sydney’s Brett Winterford is a modern day troubadour.

For the past few years he has spent his time as a travelling muso, popping up at venues across the country and abroad. Abroad he has hung out in venues in Berlin to Brooklyn, playing his folk music to every man and his dog. In fact, in 2012 he performed

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Black Breath Debut American metallers Black Breath will visit Australia shortly for the first time. According to Wikipedia, “a key factor of their sound is the “Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal Pedal”, which I am told was popularised by bands including Entombed, Dismember and Edge of Insanity. You can check out the pedal through http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LlD_wvIJkg. Or you can just crank the bajesus out of the band’s album Sentenced to Life. Reverence - April 11. .........................................................................

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The crew that makes up the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion sure picked out an appropriate name.

There is the ‘Jon Spencer’ part for starters, the name of the ringleader. Then there is the ‘Blues Explosion’ part which is mightily appropriate given the band’s knack for producing alternative blues that could blow out your speakers at any moment. They’re here for Golden Plains and shows at The Espy on March 15 and The Corner on March 16. .........................................................................

Day Ravies Gets Jiggy Sydney quartet Day Ravies are more than just a group fond of a spoonerisms (I just wanted to slip that word in). They are a group of that musos that know how to deliver first-class indie dream-pop.

The band will release their debut midyear but in the

No Rest for Kerser

Bright Days with Rainy Day Women

In the game of hip hop, who is the sickest of them all? There is a fair chance it could be Campbelltown’s Kerser. Whether it’s handing out freebies or his battle with 360, Kerser’s rhymes - not to mention his straight-taking has made him a favourite of the scene. If his debut album The Nebulizer was the entrée then his new album No Rest for the Sickest his second in a year - is the main course. The Hi-Fi - February 9.

Playing music that has been compared to The Beach Boys and Fleetwood Mac, Fremantle sunshine pop quartet Rainy Day Women is a band that is a far cry from their name. Last year they scored a few nominations at the prestigious WAMi Awards, walking away with ‘WAM Song of the Year’ for ‘Sleigh Bed’. With their sophomore EP Friends set for release later this month the time is just right to hit the tracks. The Workers Club - March 16.

meantime you can enjoy its lead single, ‘Double Act’. The accompanying clip is an “unauthorised birthday-party-cum-festival in a junk-strewn Sydney backyard.” Gasometer - February 8 & Grace Darling - February 9. .........................................................................

Panama, Jump Back, What’s That Sound?

“If Peter Gabriel had a love child with Cut Copy and took a lot of MDMA, the result would be Panama.”

That is Vice Magazine speaking about Sydney’s Panama. While that would be one very unsexy home movie, the sound is something pretty special. Jarrah McCleary, formerly of The Dirty Secrets, fronts the four-piece and they’re causing a fair bit of excitement in music circles. Workers Club - February 14 (The Ripe 1st Birthday). .........................................................................

10 Past 6 Set Forth According to Zelda Wiki, a ‘Terrorpin’ is “A turtlelike enemy found in the Palace of Darkness.” It also happens to be the name of the tour for WA’s 10 Past 6. So, you can either battle turtle-like enemies in the Palace of Darkness or you could enjoy a healthy dose of “grunge, stoner rock, psychedelic with a dash of punk rock.” It sounds like an easy choice to me.

Bendigo Hotel - February 10. With friends.

Well Travelled Passenger Once upon a time Passenger was a fivepiece before members decided to venture forth on their own expeditions in 2007.

Mike Rosenberg decided to stick with the Passenger moniker and wandered the lands playing his music to whoever would listen.

He found a few fans, then a few more, then a load more. He wrote some fine tunes and continued to spread his music around the world. Athenaeum - March 21.

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the yarra hotel

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city quarter

city quarter

black hatt

the yarra hotel

eureka hotel

eureka hotel

black hatt

the yarra hotel

eureka hotel

eureka hotel

black hatt

the yarra hotel

home house

home house

the max hotel

the max hotel

home house

home house

the max hotel

elephant & castle

lambys

lambys

edge

elephant & castle

lambys

lambys

edge

elephant & castle

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the barwon club

the barwon club

the barwon club

odyssey tavern

slate pool lounge

odyssey tavern

slate pool lounge

beav's bar

great australian beer festival

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toast nightclub

toast nightclub

toast nightclub

toast nightclub

grovedale hotel

grovedale hotel

grovedale hotel

grovedale hotel

great australian beer festival

great australian beer festival

great australian beer festival

great australian beer festival

great australian beer festival

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SATURDAY 13 APRIL THE BENDED ELBOW • GEELONG THURSDAY 11 APRIL PRINCE BANDROOM MELBOURNE

SUNDAY 14 APRIL CARAVAN MUSIC CLUB MELBOURNE

ON SALE NOW GO TO CHUGGENTERTAINMENT.COM OR BLUESFESTTOURING.COM.AU FOR MORE INFO NEWTONFAULKNER.COM • CHUGGENTERTAINMENT.COM • BLUESFESTTOURING.COM.AU

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TOO HEAVY TO HUG PAUL S TAYLOR

I don’t know if you but Pantera have a new song out! Kinda. It’s a lost track from the Vulgar Display Of Power sessions entitled ‘Piss’.

It’s cool because the riff in the verse is the same riff used in the bridge from Far Beyond Driven’s ‘Strength Beyond Strength’. It’s available to buy on iTunes or you can get it buy buying the 20th Anniversary edition of Vulgar package, which was released last year.

This isn’t the first time Pantera have decided to release new old stuff. On the 20th Anniversary edition of Cowboys From Hell, they chucked in a bonus track entitled ‘The Will To Survive’, which is, uh, pretty lame. It’s kinda like a Queensryche track with a bit more balls.

Everyone knows Pantera used to be a “power metal” band before they decided to ditch that schtick, record Cowboys From Hell and get all proper metal. It’s definitely a side of Pantera everyone refuses to acknowledge. Except maybe their record company who are reissuing all of their albums as collector’s editions with bonus stuff.

Having said that, are Pantera even relevant 20 years on? Yes, of course. But do the kids getting into metal now listen to Pantera and go “man, that shit is totes killer”?

I’d like to think so but I’m old now.

And what of the record companies going and rereleasing classic albums with all of this bonus fodder? I don’t think they’re aware of the fact that albums, be them in CD or vinyl form, are a lot more valuable if they’re original first runs that have been played to death.

They’re the albums people want.

They’re the albums people cherish and upon looking at them, bring back memories.

In Other News Holy Grail have just released their second full length album, Ride The Void. If you buy it through JB Hi-Fi online then you’ll go into the draw to win a kick-arse guitar, it’s an ESP V-300 valued at $1149!

DragonForce and The Sword will be at Billboard, The Venue on Thursday February 25.

If you’re up for a road trip when why not head to Sydney to see Slayer? They’ll be at the Luna Park Big Top on Monday February 25.

Kyuss Lives!, Orange Goblin and Red Fang will play the Palace on Tuesday February 26.

Syolisis and Six Feet Under will be appearing at The Corner Hotel on Wednesday February 27.

Vision Of Disorder along with Madball and Sick Of It All will be at The Espy on Wednesday February 27.

Linkin Park and Stone Sour will hold their Sidewave together at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday February 27.

Melbourne Soundwave on Friday March 1 is sold out, much like a majority of the Sidewave shows around Melbourne.

Tickets to Black Sabbath’s Monday April 29 show at Rod Laver Arena are still available.

If you have any news about local metal bands, shows or albums, let THTH know by emailing to tooheavytohug@hotmail.com or get in touch via Twitter at @ TooHeavyToHug

chris cruz Oh wow. Just when you thought there was no WAY they could top the 2012 Punk Rock Bowling lineup (NOFX, Rancid, Pennywise, GBH, The Breifs, Sham 69) in Las Vegas, it looks like the 2013 is going to blow it out of the water. Are you sitting down? I hope you’re sitting down: Black Flag (the 1979 Ron Reyes/ Greg Ginn lineup), Bad Religion, The Damned, Lower Class Brats, Lagwagon, Bouncing Souls, Subhumans and Swingin’ Utters.

May 24 - 27 is when it all goes down if you wanna book your flights now!

The Mars Volta, formed from the ashes of post hardcore heroes At The Drive In, have officially called it quits.

The Gaslight Anthem are touring!

Wednesday 15 May at the Palace, supports TBA. Big dumb awesome rock band Def Leppard have confirmed that they’ll be doing a one week residency at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in late March. Giggle all you like, but Hysteria is a great record!

shooting tragedies throughout 2012. Nothing like a knee-jerk reaction!

Another big US festival taking place in May is New Jerseys’ Skate and Surf Festival. Glassjaw, Rx Bandits, A Day To Remember, Andrew WK, Bayside and Saves The Day are amongst the acts taking part. Chuck in an actual PUNK band, and I’d be sold!

Emo and metalcore bands are notorious for choosing really shit names for themselves, and these two I recently came across are no exception: The Color Morale and Crown The Empire. What the hell do those names even MEAN? I’m assuming they appeal to kids who don’t actually wear their baseball caps snug on their heads, but loosely sitting on their hair. Which incidentally has a long fringe or an ironic Justin Bieber flick to it.

Cringe.

The Deftones show at the Palace on Friday May 17 has sold out.

Expect ticketing details for the Up The Punx! 2 festival to be announced shortly. Taking place at Revolver Upstairs on March 9, the newly revised line up features the likes of Topnovil, The Ramshackle Army, Hopes Abandoned, Batfoot!, Fatty Esther, Bodyjar, Strawberry Fist Cake and The Savages, with many more still TBA. 14 bands across two stages at one of Melbourne’s premiere venues. Support Australian punk rock and be there!

After eight years of being known as This Town Needs Guns, the band will now be known as TTNG in the wake of a string of US

Until next time kiddies, be careful out there. If you’re gonna slip, slop and slap, remember to do it OUTSIDE.

Anti Flag and Hostage Calm have a brand new split 7” on the way.

One new song from each band, with proceeds going to charity.

Snap one up before it’s too late!

OXYGEN COLLEGE

So students in the course get to record in these studios? Of course. That’s why they are here. Throughout the course, every student will be given time in our four recording studios learning how to not only work the consoles, but also run a recording session in a productive way. But outside of that it is up to them.

The studios are open to studios always for whatever projects they want to complete. The best way to learn how to do something is to spend as much time doing it as possible.

By Phil Datvoid

Oxygen College is a recently established, state of the art Music Industry College situated in the heart of Geelong. The College is coming off a massive 2012, in which they filled courses in Music, Technical Production, Photography and Video. Professionalism is the first feeling the College exudes. The top level is a dedicated Tuition Centre, offering private lessons to people of all ages on almost any instrument you can think of. The middle level is a mix of student classrooms, separate PC and Mac Computer Labs, along with a 120 seat Auditorium committed to Live Sound and Performance. Although, it is the bottom level of the college where all the magic happens. Downstairs of Oxygen College houses 4 fully equipped state of the art recording studios and 4 ready to use, fully sound-proofed band rehearsal spaces. This is where we caught up with Pete Flynn, to have a about the College’s Certificate III in Technical Production course, of which Pete is head trainer. It is a course that is focused on Sound production and Audio Engineering. After wrapping up his recording session with a young vocalist, Pete filled us in on his course.

Can you briefly describe Oxygen College’s Certificate III in Technical Production course? It’s basically an introduction to all things regarding Audio Engineering. It could be Live Sound, Home Studios, Mixing and Editing or even running recording sessions in studios like this one. I think that’s what people love about it the most. Whilst the fundamentals of the course are the same for everyone, it is really up to each person to lead the course to where their passion lies.

What sort of people is the course for? Anyone and everyone.

Again, each person who does the course is completely different and could be doing it for different reasons. It could be a young kid at secondary school looking to get industry experience whilst studying, or could be an adult with a full-time job who is looking to set up a home studio or even facilitate a career change. It could even be a band looking to record some of their own music.

Do you need to be a musician to understand the Technical Production course? Not at all. You can be, a lot of our sound engineers are. But you definitely don’t have to be. You need to appreciate music. But the job we are facilitating in this course is audio engineering. Whether it be mixing a band in a live setting, sitting in the Mac Lab editing a recording project, or even running a recording session in the studio.

You have mentioned live sound. How do students get to experience that? The college has heaps of opportunities to experience live sound. In 2012, we held concerts through the whole year in our auditorium, as well as off site in the Courthouse Theatre. But the biggest opportunity was at the Anglesea Music Festival. Oxygen College was in charge of live sound across the whole event, with every stage being run by either our staff or our students.

Is it fun? I really think it is. It is a course that we here at the college put a lot of thought into. We really wanted it to be a course that had a heavy focus on industry experience. Basically learning by doing. These studios and the live space are decked out in the latest audio equipment, so students are spending time on equipment that is out there in the industry. The other great thing is like I said before. It is a course that can be moulded around each individual, to focus on what the person really wants.

Is it too late to get into the course for this year? Put it this way. If your passionate enough and are genuinely interested in Audio Engineering, we will find you a spot. But you need to get in soon so you don’t miss the start of the year.

Enrolments for Oxygen College’s ‘Certificate III in Technical Production’ close on Feb 18. For all Enquiries visit us online at www.oxygencollege.com.au or Phone us on 52159175.

AT E N I L OUT ON

u S U a .

K C m E o c CH . g a

m e t r fo

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FILM REVIEWS

written by anthony morris

Flight Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) likes a drink. And the ladies. And cocaine. And flying.

So after an evening of the first three, he puts on his uniform and heads off for his day job of doing the forth. Surprisingly, when everything goes wrong halfway into his passenger flight it’s not the booze or the drugs that are to blame but a mechanical fault – in fact, it could even be that the booze and the drugs loosen him up enough to attempt the daredevil flying he does to somehow prevent the plane from diving into the ground. Instead, he pulls off a landing that has him hailed as a hero – but even heroes get investigated after a crash.

The big problem with Flight is that director Robert Zemeckis doesn’t seem able to control himself when it comes to putting together the pieces of this film. Most of it is a perfectly decent small-scale character study of a man in denial about his drinking problem, and Washington does an excellent job of hinting at the characters weaknesses when he’s in public before breaking out the quality drunk acting in private. But Zemeckis opens the film with an astoundingly suspenseful twenty minutes or so of plane crash action, which sets the bar so high – and in a totally different direction from the rest of the film – that everything else can’t help but feel like a let-down. Add in a way overthe-top performance from John Goodman as Whip’s drug dealer – he’s only in two scenes but he’s a walking cartoon who throws things off balances in yet another way – plus a badly misjudged “I’ve learnt my lesson” coda and this ends up as a perfectly serviceable and at times insightful look at addiction buried under a string of misjudgements.

Silver Linings Playbook Lincoln There are a lot of things you’d expect a movie about Lincoln – especially a movie from Steven Spielberg – to have that this particular movie about Lincoln doesn’t really bother with. The Civil War, for example: there’s a few brief glimpses of it early on, and people certainly bring it up in conversation, but the big battles are nowhere to be seen. Slavery too: it’s a subject that’s at the heart of what this film is actually about, but as far as seeing any slaves – or even all that many black people – goes, they’re filed away in the background with the Civil War. What this movie is about is the political struggle Lincoln faced to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in the dying months of the Civil War. The Amendment was important because without it there was a chance his previous proclamation overturning slavery could itself be overturned after the war; passing it at that point in time was important because much of the support for it came from people who thought it would help end the war. No war, no support for it. Not there was much support for it at the time; much of Lincoln effort to get it passed boiled down to outright bribing members of the House of Representatives who’d lost their seats in the recent election and so were just serving out their time before the new House was formed. So yes, this is a movie with a lot of talking. It’s also a movie with a lot of great performances (even outside of playing spot your favourite TV actors – there’s Lane from Mad Men, Boyd from Justified, Adam from Girls, James Spader from everything…), especially Tommy Lee Jones for once not playing a sour-faced grump and tearing up the place as a firebrand abolitionist who realises you have to dial it down a little to get the job done. It’s Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln who elevates this otherwise solid film into something special though, taking a script full of folksy touches – Lincoln likes to tell a story, so much so that other characters storm off in frustration once he gets started – and giving them a real warmth without shying away from the steel (and the frustration) underneath.

This is a film that not only humanises an American saint, it makes you understand how those who knew him might think of him that way.

Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) is in a lot of trouble. He’s just spent eight months in a mental health facility after he attacked his wife and her lover after catching them together in the shower. He was diagnosed as bipolar; his wife took out a restraining order and didn’t stick around to see if he came out cured.

Fortunately his parents (Robert DeNiro and Jackie Weaver) have taken him in despite all his flaws (throwing a Hemmingway novel out the window at 4am then shouting about how bad it was, for example), with his somewhat obsessive-compulsive bookmaker dad hoping to get in some solid father-son time, seemingly because of a superstition that the closer they are, the better their team does. Pat’s more interested in befriending recovering sex addict, widow and aspiring dancer Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) after she tells him she can get messages to his wife, and it’s around this point that what was a fairly interesting look at a group of mentally offbeat characters turns into a surprise-free romantic comedy with a mildly quirky edge. Director David O Russell hits the clichés hard in this feel-good tale of mental illness conquered via the power of turning up to dance every now and again. Oh, and of sucking in a friend to bet on who well you do at the big dance. The big disappointment here is that those clichés come after a first half that works hard (and mostly succeeds) at coming off as something smarter and more risky than it ends up being. Great acting is this film’s salvation, as all four leads give performances fair stronger and more interesting than this so-so story deserves.

Hansel and Gretel Eagle-eyed viewers – or just those so bored with the standard blood-drenched background for the opening credits that they actually read the opening credits – will notice that Will Ferrell is listed as one of the producers of this film. Of course, you might think, that explains all the bad press this film has been getting: this film is a comedy and the media is too dim to get the joke. Then we cut to a village seemingly made entirely out of mud and porridge and the milkman is handing out old glass bottles of milk that have drawings of missing kids on them, which is also obviously a joke… and that’s it. What follows is yet another lame lightweight action film set in the past so modern-ish weapons – shotguns, machine guns, and ridiculous trick crossbows – can seem impressive, only they’re not because we aren’t medieval peasants and therefore shotguns are not magic boomsticks as far as we’re concerned. The idea here is that after defeating one witch, Hansel (Jeremy Renner, whose career is on the way up) and sister Gretel (Gemma Arterton, whose career is on the way down) stick with what they know, somehow acquire a “high-tech” arsenal and roam the land as witch-hunters for hire. Also, they’re immune to magic, only Hansel has a form of magic diabetes than means if he doesn’t get his shot right on time – he’s also invented the wristwatch, by the way – he’ll die. This feels like it should pay off in some way, but it never really does. Maybe the script contained more jokes – the way everyone says Hansel’s name all the time feels like the work of someone who thinks the word “Hansel” is funny on it’s own, which after Zoolander it pretty much is – and one witch trap involves a 17th century gramophone, which is so stupid it’s kind of funny.

But director Tommy Wirkola (Blood Snow) is obsessed with exploding heads and completely kak-handed at anything approaching human emotion so as far as calling this utterly forgettable, no-impact action film a comedy? Don’t make me laugh.

Movie 43 Actors are not the drawcards they once were. There are now maybe a handful of performers who can get audiences into the cinema simply on name recognition alone; everyone else needs to be in a superhero costume, be rebooting a previously established franchise, be doing basically the same thing they did in their last successful film, and so on. So having a bunch of them turn up in a below-average – very below average – sketch comedy movie should be a surprise. Which is bad news for the makers of Movie 43, because stunt casting is pretty much all this has going for it. Opening with the weakest premise for a sketch movie ever – Dennis Quaid is a creepy nut pitching crap ideas to movie executive / wimp Greg Kennear, eventually at gunpoint – his first idea is a “smart movie with heart” where Kate Winslet goes on a blind date with Hugh Jackman, who has testicles growing from his throat. His throat balls, proceed to shed pubes in his soup, get dunked in his soup, shrink in cold weather, and end up being rubbed on Winslet’s face. Next we get Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber as home schooling parents determined to ensure that even when home-schooled high school is “the unhappiest time in a young boy’s life”. Cue various harassments, torments, and confusing sexual come-ons.

It’s all downhill from there: Anna Faris wants her boyfriend Chris Pratt to “poop” on her; on a blind date Halle Berry and Stephen Merchant take a game of truth or dare way too far; Kieran Culkin and Emma Stone abuse each other at a supermarket checkout; Richard Gere chairs a board meeting to discuss why teenage boys are sticking their dicks into a giant iPod that’s built to be identical to a naked woman. There’s a terrible segment on superhero speed-dating that doesn’t work even if you find the idea of Batman constantly cock-blocking Robin funny. There’s a couple of fake commercials that certainly look like commercials. Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott kidnap a sweary leprechaun (Gerard Butler) and beat him up for his gold. Chloë Grace Moretz gets her first period on a date in an all-male household who have no idea what to do. And Elizabeth Banks gets to utter the immortal line “die you dick-loving devil cat” to an animated feline she caught jerking off to pictures of her boyfriend. Like everything here, it’s not as funny as it sounds. Watch 80 minutes of YouTube instead.

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Django Unchained: Quentin

Tarantino’s latest film sets his talky characters in the Wild West then the Deep South for a tale of a slave’s vengeance against the plantation owner who owns his wife. Blood gushes and the language is salty, but Tarantino never fails to entertain.

Guilt Trip: Seth

Rogen is a scientist with a new wonder

cleaning product he’s pitching to companies.

Why not take his overbearing mother (Barbara Streisand) with him on the road trip, you may ask? This actually kind of sweet and relatively funny film explains why.

The Impossible:

This real-life tale of a family’s struggle for survival during the Boxing Day tsunami is pretty gruelling stuff, but never quite tugs at the heart strings

the way it so clearly wants to.

Zero Dark Thirty: The eight year hunt for Osama Bin Laden is brought to grim, compelling life in this how-we-got-him procedural that’s thankfully stripped of the slightest trace of jingoism.

This Is 40: No it’s not

– not unless you’re very well-off, are terrible with money, argue a lot with your spouse

and aren’t really all that funny. And you run for over two hours, which seems kind of long for a film whose moral is “relationships are hard”.

Gangster Squad:

No, not a squad of gangsters; this rip-roaring tale of mobsters and the tough guy cops who take them down in 50s LA is pretty generic stuff, but there’s a slick charm to it that makes it (kind of) work.

POrPe! cultu

By An th on

y M or ri s

If you want to be a big success in Australian television these days the big skill to have is the ability to disguise cheap and shoddy workmanship. Well, maybe that’s a little harsh: the fact is that Australian television has always had its cheap and cheerful component – Hey Hey it’s Saturday, anyone – and back when there were no other options to be found, you either put up or turned on the radio. But today, as the internet is fond of telling us, we now have the internet, which means a world of entertainment is at our fingertips and pretty much all of that world looks a lot more impressive than what’s being filmed around the corner.

Bringing the Agony brand back for a second swing both makes sense and reeks of desperation: the first run went for sixteen weeks (eight weeks for the guys, eight for the ladies) and was little more than a televised version of the kind of lightweight puff pieces the Sunday papers run where B-list celebrities provide their “insights” on life. They’re not famous enough for their every word to enthral, and for the most part they’re not insightful enough for their advice to stand on it’s own, but Zwar can make it himself with the help of a cameraman by filming it in his celebrity friend’s kitchen and doing all the voiceover links himself, so like the budgie says, it’s cheap! Shock Horror Aunty! is even cheaper, as it’s basically a clip show built around the idea that these are the moments where the ABC went “too far” - only of course these aren’t the moments that caused actual outrage because they’re not silly enough to show those scenes again (that’s right, the Chaser not-really making fun of dying kids sketch is mentioned but not shown). Still, there are a bunch of clips from The Doug Anthony All-Stars though, which is convenient as they have a new (okay, it’s new to DVD) DVD out from the ABC next month collecting their TV series DAAS Kapital.

But it’s not like advertising is allowed on the ABC, is it?

So television has changed. The commercial networks have figured out that all the quality overseas shows are already being downloaded by fans of those shows, so why bother with them when they can make local shows people can’t download? Not local drama or comedy, of course – drama and comedy fans are the ones doing the downloading – but if they can fill the schedules with local reality shows and sport with the occasional oldies-focused drama (oldies not being big on the downloading yet) they can keep things ticking over business as usual. And if they can’t they’re Channel Ten. Meanwhile over at the ABC, they face the same problems but don’t have the easy out that is huge slabs of cheap reality programming, which explains why they’re starting off the year with a couple of shows that aren’t exactly tough on the wallet: Adam Zwar’s The Agony Guide to Life (spinning off from last year’s endless Agony Uncles / Aunts) and Shock Horror Aunty!, a two-part series hosted

by The Chaser’s Craig Reucassel that claims to collect clips of the ABC’s most shocking moments from over the years.

PULP. >>>>>> By Cameron Urquhart & Alastair McGibbon

Welcome to Pulp, where trashy horror and superheroes collide, creating a bizarre flying werewolf with laser eyes and a cape. Or it’s just a column, but that sounds less thrilling.

Cameron: For those who haven’t seen me naked (very unfortunate people), I have a rather large Bat symbol permanently emblazoned across my chest that gives me away as a bit of a comic fan. I have spent years of my life devoted to the character roster of the big two companies, though recently these ongoing series have been dropped in favour of something a bit different.

Since becoming a hoary and wizened 23 year old I have traded in a couple of capes for Image comics ongoing Chew. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, involving a detective who gets psychic imprints from things he has eaten, be it a left behind biscuit or a piece of long deceased dog, I have never been so overwhelming horrified and amused at the same time. Not since that accident with the skydiving clowns anyway.

While we’re talking horrifying things relating to food, I’d suggest you all track down a copy of Jackie Kong’s Blood Diner from 1987. Michael and George Tutman run the best vegetarian diner in town, with customers remarking that the food is so good it must contain meat. It does.

Human meat. This film is a must have for anyone who considers themselves a fan of horrors, or a collector of VHS. It is a loose remake/sequel to Blood Feast that ramps up the insanity to 11.

While never really frightening, this film is still one of the best horrors of all time.

Alastair: If Daria Morgendorffer and Leonard Hoffstadter had a baby (who was dropped on his head early in life), I’d be the horrifying, semianimated result. Despite my childhood dream of becoming a Transformer, I have grown up to be your typical, caffeine-addicted nerd/writer/ chump. I live and breathe all things pop culture: I have a collection of manga that is slowly infesting my bookshelves, a collection of figurines that grows larger every time I turn my back and an insatiable appetite for all things Batman.

Speaking of Gotham’s own caped badass, if you haven’t been paying attention to DC’s New 52 Batman title (AND WHY HAVEN’T YOU?!), things are really starting to heat up in the latest story arc. Titled ‘Death of the Family’, readers are treated to the Joker at his most insane, conniving best.

Scott Snyder has followed up the ‘Court of the Owls’ arc with one of the best Batman stories to date. Snyder’s new Joker (sporting a rather fetching strapped-on face) is doing what he does best – screwing with Batsy – and pulling off stunts that are even freaking out his gal pal Harley Quinn. ‘Death of the Family’ kicked off with Batman #13, an absolute masterpiece of storytelling.

On a different note, Christmas brought me more confusion than cheer and presents – the annual Doctor Who Christmas Special (while entertaining) raised more questions than it answered. So not only are fans forced to wait another few months for another measly eight episodes, there’s even more questions than before. Call me oldfashioned, but I prefer my Doctor Who fix in large chunks, not disappointing dribs and drabs. Who resurrected Strax? Why is Clara suddenly everywhere? Will Jack Harkness ever show up again? DAMN YOU, MOFFAT!

MUSIC REVIEWS

Hat Fitz & Cara

Stompy And The Heat

Wiley Ways

Self-titled

Independent

Masterstroke Records

Every now and then I come across something new and amazing that I never expected. Hat Fitz & Cara’s Wiley Ways is one of those albums. Hat Fitz is a veteran of the Australian blues scene, with a record eighteen-straight appearances at Byron Bay’s Bluesfest. While touring in Ireland, he came across Cara Robinson, an Irish lass with a voice like no other. The two fell in love, and next thing you know, Cara was in Australia. Their combined musical talents are fantastic, Fitzy’s blues ability is coupled with Cara’s soulful vocals to produce something special. Fitzy is more than capable of a classic blues growl, but vocally, the star is Cara. Blues is a genre that should never have gone out of fashion, because it keeps producing albums like this. The title track is probably the best, highlighting both Fitzy’s incredible guitar work and Cara’s voice. The perfect blend of blues and soul. Definitely worth picking up, I cannot compliment this album more. Don’t bother if you don’t have any respect for blues, roots and soul though. BY CAMERON BROGDEN

Scott Wilson’s songwriting nous has been on my radar since the release of Dan Sultan’s ARIA winning album Get Out While You Can. Alongside several co-writes by the two, sat some of the album’s finest songs - both lyrically and tunefully - penned by Wilson alone. No longer Sultan’s guitarist and right-hand-man, he’s ventured into the spotlight taking his leanings toward retro grooves out for a spin. And it’s one stompin goodtime, surf-blasted ride. Fitting the vibe, the self-titled album opens and closes with instrumentals. ‘Alien Death Ray’ launches the cracking pace in no uncertain terms. Vocals kick in with Bow Campbell (Front End Loader) on ‘Thanks To You’; its driving rock visiting ‘80s INXS-meetsHoodoo Gurus territory. There’s plenty of raw and ripe guitar licks, no-muckin-around drums from Peter Marin (Dan Sultan / Paul Kelly / Gossling), rocking blues, outlaw bikers, hippies and zombies.

In ‘Badaling’, Wilson writes as a ‘poor boy from Outer Mongol’ who wants to visit the other side of The Great Wall: “I wanna try some food that don’t come from a yak / I may be a marauder but I like your sense of order.” Closer to home, ‘Don’t Tell Me That She’s Gone’ has the hero searching for his baby from Katoomba to Narooma. Merle Haggard’s ‘Honky Tonk Night Time Man’ injects some hip-shaking country twang, suggesting nods to early Elvis weren’t all coming from the frontman on Get Out...‘The Last Wave’ - though not in the literary sense - is Wilson’s ‘Albatross’ (Fleetwood Mac). Guests include Gina Woods (Dan Sultan) on keys, the ever-impressive Garrett Costigan (pedal steel), Ken Eavel (db), Emma Donovan (vocals) and Neil Gray (bass). Nice work too from the latter at Melbourne’s Big Sky Audio. This road trip to the ‘60s and back again is a happening thang. BY CHRIS LAMBIE

KATY B Danger E.P. Columbia British choralist Katy B’s 2011 debut album On A Mission harboured a few instant hits but was, primarily, a bit of a mixed bag. Although it still remains a decent listen there are a number of turkeys that can’t be avoided. But with the emergence of B’s stunning new Danger E.P., Katy has not only teamed up with some of the hottest producers and vocalists the world has to offer for this four-track masterpiece, she’s also managed to retain 100% of herself and her own musical agenda – everything from the razor-sharp lyrics to the way Katy shoehorns this total dub throwback to the 1990’s and manages to also interweave that into the sounds of her guest producers. Opening track ‘Aaliyah’ plays as a tribute to the work of the late pop star, whilst a hypnotic club-house beat that’s been lifted right out of 1991 thumps along in the background. Jessie Ware takes on the role as guest vocalist on ‘Aaliyah’ as well, a song which pays more homage to the singer via lyrics than it actually does via its production. Aaliyah never sounded this rooted into the world of house and Timbaland – the late singer’s original producer – hasn’t sounded this fresh or relevant in well over four years. ‘Got Paid’ sees B teaming up with Wiley and Zinc for a clusterfuck of drum ‘n bass beats and dubstep tidings. To call this the E.P’s only low-point is somewhat insulting to the song itself – the worst song on Danger still remains better and contains more creativitey than a number of people’s feature-length albums in 2012.

Australia’s own Iggy Azalea takes a rap feature on the Diplo produced ‘Light As A Feather’, marrying Diplo’s signature clunky-synths and basslines with Katy’s smooth-as-silk voice. Iggy’s rap is inspired and perhaps the least offensive of all of her work – there’s this maddening blend of Ke$ha’s whitegirl-trash-rap and Azealia Banks’ hard-hitting, sailor-mouthed potty-storm that really make the song a highlight, but – once again – it’s Katy B herself who takes ownership of the songs greatest moments. As a whole, Danger is a prime example that not only has Katy sharpened her wits since the last time we saw her, she is also now ready to play ball. BY ADEM ALI.

Nicky Bomba’s BUSTAMENTO Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Islands Mushroom Further proof that I need to Google-search bands before I pick up their albums from the review pile, BUSTAMENTO (always capitalised) is a side project of John Butler Trio drummer, Nicky Bomba.

They bring a unique ska-infused reggae sound to their debut album that you’d be hard-pressed to find anything like. Unfortunately, I can’t help but feel that everything they do has been done better.

The Australian ska movement of the 90s and early 2000s has been and gone, and with it has gone some of our most surprising talents, while reggae is all but dead outside of its Caribbean home. ‘Manana’ brings shades of The Cat Empire, but just enough to remind you of how it could be done so much better. ‘Swinging Momento’ does away with the reggae and ska sounds altogether, instead bringing a swinging sixties jazz sound that wouldn’t be out of place on Disney’s The Jungle Book soundtrack. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the record. All in all, I can’t really recommend buying this one before it hits the bargain bin, unless you’re gearing up for a Caribbean holiday, and even then, you’ve got better choices than this. BY CAMERON BROGDEN

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grogwatch So, how was your Australia Day long weekend? Yeah, right, whatever: mine started off with me passed out on the bathroom floor, only not in a good way. Two words: stomach bug. That’s right, I don’t bother finding out what kind of bug I’ve got, I don’t go online and look up symptoms and I sure as hell don’t go to the doctors about this kind of thing – or any kind of thing really, I spent half of last year suffering from mystery chest pains and if my doctor wanted to find out about them he’d have to call me up and ask me how I was feeling which would be pretty strange if you think about it – because when I get sick I’m sick and that’s all I need to know. Which is pretty darn Aussie as really. Meanwhile, back at the start of this whole sordid mess, not a lot was going on: it had been a fairly typical Montana Friday, by which I mean I was writing crap like crazy trying to get everything finished in time so I could spend the evening getting hammered without the nagging sense of guilt that comes from passing out with items left on your todo list. And for the most part the day mix of just drinking enough so I had a good buzz on without writing total gibberish had paid off: work was done, I’d collected the evenings fish’n chips and the was plenty of time to watch the DVD that I’d especially chosen for its balance between senseless violence and not having to pay much attention to the bits between the senseless violence, which this night was Gangs of New York. Wow, was that movie crappier than I remembered it. Remember when movies actually had to go out and build old-timey sets? In 1863 it seems New York consisted of three poor streets, one rich one and a dock. Also, the story was rubbish! So many clichés! Has anyone ever in real life gone “I totes want to kill that dude, so I’d better infiltrate his organisation and become the son he never had”? Has anyone ever gone “the son I never had just tried to kill me but even though my actual name is Bill the Butcher I won’t kill him, just burn a tiny triangle on his cheek

and let him go”? And then the whole gang warfare story ends with “and then riots tore New York apart and the Navy blew everything up so none of it mattered anyway and it was all forgotten about, The End”. No wonder I drink.

So around midnight or so I started feeling gassy, which is no big surprise to me as by this stage I’m not even bothering to mix the vodka and coke – it’s a swig from one bottle then a swig from the other – and I’m basically horizontal on the floor while I’m doing it, which can’t be good for the digestive system. Can I be bothered getting up?

All signs point to no. So I do the next best thing: roll onto my side and keep on watching TV. Hey, being on your side is officially good for stomach complaints according to something I think I remembered, plus I was kind of pretty drunk and it wasn’t like the gas was all that bad, only I must have fallen asleep because it was suddenly an hour or so later and the gassy feeling was really bad and it now seemed like a really really good idea to get to the toilet. Okay, by “gassy feeling” here I mean a really bad pressure across my whole torso and up into my jaw and now I was starting to feel kind of light headed and while I remember getting down the corridor okay by the time I made it to the bathroom I was seriously reeling and then I bounced off the wall and kinda remember falling down and then I woke up and I was on the floor. Nothing seemed to be broken even though I sure felt like my insides were tearing themselves apart, so I crawled over to the toilet, pulled myself up, sat myself down and settled in for the ride.

Now, you’d think an individual with my particular set of personal hobbies would have no problem whatsoever with going the spew. And once upon a time, many years ago, you’d be right: many was the night when, halfway through my stagger home, I’d pause under a tree to throw up whatever booze I’d consumed that was currently surplus to requirements. But over the last few years or so – roughly around the time I developed my personal philosophy of drinking, which largely boils down to “drink at home, it’s cheaper” – I’d no longer had the need to throw up all over town in the manner of my youth. Put another way, I was out of the

When is a partner not a partner?

chunder habit, which could have proven to be a problem in my current situation. Last time I’d had a similar stomach bug, my stomach was churning so badly I’d tried to make myself throw up, and the dry retching was enough to make me pass out: having already passed out once this evening I wasn’t in a hurry to do it again. Fortunately – well, not “fortunately”, but you know what I mean – the other end of the digestive system was working hard at shifting units. So well in fact that after a while I figured I could crawl off to bed and try to get back to sleep, what with being kind of exhausted after all the excitement. So off I went, collecting a plastic bendy washing bucket-thing just in case I re-developed the ability to hurl, and lay down on the bed thinking the worst was probably over.

Oh ho ho ho no. Two hours later I was back on the toilet, my arse giving off a reasonable impression of a burst water main while I cradled the bucket seriously thinking that things did not improve in the next two seconds I was actually going to die. Not in a superficial “this is killing me” sense either: I’m talking a bone-deep realisation that what I was currently undergoing was not compatible with me remaining alive and that if it continued it would force my soul – yes, in the depth of my agony I suddenly had a soul – from my body and that would be the end of that. Good times. Luckily a tiny part of me – presumably the part of me that had gone through pretty much the exact same thing last time I’d had a stomach bug this bad – reminded me that all the crap I was going through (and all the crap that was going through me) was for my own good: the bug that I had was clearly something that my body had to get out of me as quickly as humanly possible, and the only way to get this done was to make me feel as horrible as humanly possible. Presumably in humanity’s past there had been people who, upon getting a stomach bug like the one I’d got, hadn’t felt anywhere near as bad, and had therefore died because they rolled out the welcome mat to stomach-churning diseases instead of shitting them out firehose-style. Given the option of merely feeling certain I was going to die and actually dying, I figured I would take door A. For a few more seconds at least.

uncomfortable because the act of moving it would have been even more uncomfortable because of the aforementioned near total lack of energy. I have no idea how air was getting into my lungs because all I seemed to be doing was breathing out in these heavy exhausted sighs while I sat slumped against the pillows making faint moaning noises.

Still, it could have been worse: I was wrung out and had no energy whatsoever, but I was in bed so it didn’t matter. What did matter was that I was so wrung out I didn’t even have the energy to operate my own brain, which meant that when my stomach started growling and being all gassy I just thought “oh yeah, gas” rather than “ongoing stomach apolcaypse”, which then meant when it felt like I had a fart building up I just thought “oh yeah, let’er rip” rather than “considering you just spent sixty percent of the last five hours on the toilet, is this really such a good idea”, and then I’d shat the bed. Which wasn’t like some kind of poo explosion or anything really, but let’s be honest: it wasn’t good.

And at this stage let me stress one thing: I did not have the energy to stand up. I did not have the energy to crawl. I did not have the energy to twitch. Fortunately, I didn’t even have the energy to lay perfectly still in my own filth, as I’d rolled onto one side to let what I’d kinda though was going to be a fart out. So I just kept on rolling, onto the floor with a thud. Then I dragged myself, and the bedsheets, down to the bathroom, pushed them into the bath cleaned up as best I could, and then fell asleep for the next two hours. Fourteen hours later I made it back to bed, the next day I could stand upright and

by Tuesday night I was back on the piss. In your face, whatever the hell stomach bug I had. In. Your. Face.

Tony “This story has no moral” Montana

Eventually I found a pose that seemed to ease the pain, and after another forty minutes or so I could stagger back to bed, the worst seemingly over.

And when I woke up a few hours later, it really was, in that I no longer was so wracked with pain that I felt I was about to die at any second. What I did feel, was a near total lack of energy, as in I couldn’t move my leg even though it was painfully

To get to the other side. God I’m funny! Ok let’s be serious now children. Aunty Steph is a little pissed off this week (what’s new eh?).

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the term ‘partner’ as a description for a significant other. Last week someone asked me how things were going with myself and my partner. I responded - “You mean my boyfriend?”

I believe the title ‘partner’ to be perfectly suitable for couples aged 50 plus who find it too embarrassing at that age to say ‘my boyfriend/girlfriend’ but for anyone else it is not acceptable.

I used to know this girl who referred to her ‘boyfriend’ as her ‘partner’. She was 21. If you’re 21 years old you don’t say ‘partner’ unless you want me to imagine you with an 89 year old man who dribbles. Or unless it’s preceded by the word ‘sexual’.

It was so frustrating and almost bordering on condescending. “My partner and I drove to the beach,” she’d say. “My partner and I went shopping”, she’d brag. “My partner and I had an early bird special before heading to bingo.” Twat.

And to add to the frustration here, I had met her ‘partner’ several times! She could have just referred to him as Stanley (that’s clearly an 89-year-old man name) and saved us all the annoyance!

I would much prefer you introduce your boyfriend to me as ‘my lover’, ‘my fella’ or my personal favourite, ‘the dude I’m currently fucking’.

Peace.

what the eff?

By Steph

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