Forte #587

Forte

ISSUE #587

ball ar at | bell arine | Bendigo | ca stlemaine | geelong | surfcoa st | warrnambool |

29/05/2014

FREE!

DZ DEATHRAYS “There has to be pyrotechnics!�

pg.19

BAND

pg.00

HANSON

gary numan

hard-ons

pg.29

pg.20

pg.00

the audreys

pg.34

peter dinklage

pg.36

taylor henderson

pg.39

ALSO FEATURING: Taking Back Sunday, Dead Letter Circus, Wagons, Hailmary, Anthony Hamilton and heaps more!

10 0 % l o c a l ly o w n e d & o p e r at e d

Plus all the latest local entertainment news, music and movie reviews and all your favourite Forte columns!

available from 750+ outlets every fortnight

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BLACK HAT RACKETS PRESENTS...

TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE TOUR 2014 THU 19 JUNE

THE BARWON CLUB, GEELONG

FRI 20 JUNE

170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE

SUN 29 JUNE

THE OLD HEPBURN HOTEL, HEPBURN SPRINGS

FRI 04 JULY

THE THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE

SUN 06 JULY

THE LOFT, WARRNAMBOOL TICKETS ON SALE NOW

NEW ALBUM ON SALE MAY 2 WWW.GRAVEYARDTRAIN.COM.AU forte 5

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W I N!

forte issue #587 t h u r s d ay 2 9 m ay 2 014

forte F R E E B I E S!

Ph: 03 5229 7969 PO Box 978 Geelong VIC 3220 fortemag.com.au

enquiries@fortemag.com.au Publisher

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McNamara Publishing editor / DIRECTOR

Luke McNamara

luke@fortemag.com.au advertising

Abbey King

abbey@fortemag.com.au

Lucas Barnes

lucas@fortemag.com.au Art director

James Dulce editorial assistant

Belinda McIntosh

A

dz deathrays pg.19

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anthony hamilton pg.39

C

hard-ons pg.29

D

peter dinKlage pg.36

E

taylor henderson pg.39

B

Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are back together in the comedy 22 JUMP ST opening in cinemas June 19!

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+ Gary Numan (pg.20), Arockalypse (pg.25), Two Sugars (pg.31), Harry Hookey (pg.39), and heaps more!

We are offering 5x admit 2 inseason passes to Forte readers!

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Simply email your name, postal address and mobile number to luke@fortemag.com.au

Scene photographer:

Marianne Valitutti contributors

Anthony Morris, Adem Ali, Alastair McGibbon, Amanda Sherring, Cameron Brogden, Cameron Urqhuart, Chris Cruz, Chris Lambie, Daniel Lock, Daniel Waight, Darlene Taylor, Dr John Lamp, Madelin Baldwin, Natalie Rogers, Oliver Friend, Paul S Taylor, Tex Miller, Wylie Caird, Xavier Fenell, Zach Broadhurst, Tony Montana printed by

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Advertisers and agents are advised that all advertising copy is their responsibility under the trade practices act. Advertisements are published in good faith and on the understanding that the content is legitimate and lawful. Advertisers and or agents submit advertisements at their own risk. The editor and creators hold no responsibility whatsoever for the content of the magazine in the case that it may offend. Forte accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions. Forte reserves the right to edit all articles and letters.

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A Case of Mind Over Matter Are you excited about Mind Over Matter’s new release This Way to Elsewhere? The Sydney duo of Willow (Rowan Lockyer) and Smiles Again (Martin Brown) welcome their new album tomorrow (May 30) and it features an appearance from one of the best in Bliss N Eso. Smiles: “When we set out to make this album we wanted the most universal sound we could achieve. We’re stoked with what we cooked up.”

Laundry Bar – July 11.

In a Stevie Nicks of Time Earlier this month Stevie Nicks revealed that she is currently working on a new album. According to a report made by Billboard, the album will be a collection of tracks written throughout the singer’s career that never found a home. Each is being re-recorded by the artist.

Early days yet, but the album is expected to be out in October. It is tentatively titled 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault.

New RHCP “It’s only been a couple of months, so we’re just starting to write and get in the groove of things.”

That is what drummer

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Chad Smith told Billboard about new Red Hot Chili Peppers material. He went on to say: “So we don’t make the record that we made three years ago, we’re gonna make something different. And you never know what that is going to be.” Smith also recently battled Will Ferrell in the ultimate drum-off.

Steve-O Brings the Funny If there is a guy whose stories would have the ability to make you laugh, cringe and be horrified at the same time, it would be Steve-O. Stephen Gilchrist Glover worked as a clown at the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop flea market, showing skills which would lead to a gig on the Jackass crew. His body was then battered and beaten every way possible. However, there is a great deal more to this man. Athenaeum Theatre – July 31.

The Look of Roxette In 2012 Roxette embarked on a world tour which played out to 1.5 million people across 46 countries.

Early next year the powerhouse of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle return to our shores. With a catalogue boasting songs including ‘It Must Have Been Love’, ‘Spending My Time’, ‘Joyride’, ‘Listen to Your Heart’ and ‘The

t h e l a t e s t n a t i o n a l & INTERNATIONAL music & enterta inment ne w s

Look’, it is little wonder there remains such love for these Swedish pop rockers. Rod Laver Arena – February 20.

Toxic Holocaust Come Good Due to vocalist Joel Grind coming down with an ear infection, Toxic Holocaust were forced to postpone their Australian tour. Well, the antibiotics have worked a treat and the band has a stack of shows lined up for late in the year.

Skeletonwitch will be unable to join the party; however, Iron Reagan (featuring members of Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour) will do the warming up honours instead. Reverence Hotel – November 16.

Down in Kid Ink Lane

Out on Holiday

Kid Ink was born Brian Todd Collins. Inspired by the likes of Pharrell Williams, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, Collins’ start in music was thanks to after-school music programs. In 2012, in between mixtapes, he released his debut independent album Up & Away. At the beginning of 2013 he signed with RCA Records and premiered his first major label single, ‘Bad Ass’. The Hi-Fi – August 24.

They were only out on the road in March but such was the fun had that the lads of The Holidays have lined up another run of shows.

The tour coincides with ‘Tongue Talk’, the band’s third single from Real Feel. The Brag calls the single a “triumphant pop anthem that will worm its way onto the road trip playlists of everyone who hears it”. The Hi-Fi – July 4. Electronic pop artist Thief, aka PJ Wolf, supports.

Neurosis Make Their Debut

SOHN Eyes Australia

Bonjah Gets Wild

Fans of post-metal band Neurosis have been waiting for what must seem like an eternity for this one. Finally, after almost 30 years playing music, the band is set to make their debut voyage to our humble little country.

The band formed in 1985 out of the ashes of Violent Coercion. They released their most recent album, Honor Found in Decay, in 2012. The Corner – August 7 & The Hi-Fi – August 8.

English ex-pat singer and musician Christopher Taylor is SOHN. Following his production of tracks for the likes of Kwabs and Banks, plus a handful of his own singles, SOHN dropped Tremors, an album that received the kind of buzz that is hard to ignore. The album was apparently recorded entirety at night, with Taylor enjoying a fresh walk home as the sun came up. Ding Dong Lounge – June 25.

Set to perform some twenty shows across six states, Melbourne-via-New Zealand outfit Bonjah are eyeing off their most extensive tour to date.

The tour is in support of the band’s latest effort, Beautiful Wild. The album, which was released last month, was produced

by Jan Skubiszewski (Way of the Eagle, John Butler Trio, The Cat Empire).

Cherry Bar – July 4; Yah Yah’s – July 5; and Spirit Bar – August 7.

Like Thieves Take a Stand Queensland rockers Like Thieves have launched their #bravetheday campaign on the back of new single ‘Brave the Day’ and are asking supporters to take a selfie, video clip or make a social media post about an experience with bullying. People are encouraged to share their experience through platforms that support the hashtag format, accompanied by #bravetheday. Hit the band’s website for further information.

Say Halo to Steven Spielberg It would seem that one Mr Steven Spielberg is to be the man in charge of a live-action TV series based on sci-fi video game Halo.

Spielberg: “For me, the Halo universe is an amazing opportunity to be at that intersection where technology and myth-making meet, to produce something really groundbreaking.

I’m incredibly excited about the great journey we are all on, the heroes, worlds, and wonders that Halo will take us on.”

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t h e l a t e s t n a t i o n a l & INTERNATIONAL music & enterta inment ne w s

Fit for a Queen

Sepultura Are All Heart Arguably one of the finest bands to ever grace the metal genre, Sepultura have announced their first Australian tour in eleven years. The Brazilian heavy-hitters have been in the game for more than thirty years now. They released their debut album, Morbid Visions, way back in 1986. Their latest, and thirteenth, is 2013’s The Mediator between Head and Hands Must be the Heart. 170 Russell – October 3.

So, it looks like another rumour has come true: Queen is coming to Australia. Adam Lambert will once again step up to the plate following rave reviews for his performances in the US. Lambert: “The thought of sharing the stage for a full set in Australia is so beautifully surreal. I’m honoured to be able to pay my respects to Freddie’s memory; he’s a personal hero of mine, and I am deeply grateful for the chance to sing such powerful music for fans of this legendary band.” Rod Laver Arena – August 29.

Double Dose of deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman, better known as deadmau5, will release his first doubledisc album next month.

What can fans expect? “It’s a good mix of shit I want to do versus shit people want to hear or what they would expect. It’s a good balance.

It’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s such a departure. He’s doing smooth jazz.’” He also feels the album is his first proper body of work. The album is titled while (1<2).

The Wonderful Action Bronson Action Bronson took to Twitter to announce that the name of his new

Ultimate earthcore Package They’re pretty decent folk over earthcore way. With tickets selling fast, the festival is giving earthcore nuts the chance to win a sweet prize package. Up for grabs is a double pass, two earthcore t-shirts, a stack of 2013 and 2014 earthcore posters and a handy $100 petrol money to get you there. Oh, and they’re also throwing a 4 person tent your way. To enter, register that you are attending via their facebook.

album is Mr Wonderful.

He also took time to speak to NME about the release, saying “The album is sounding incredible.

The whole album is a standout. I don’t care about individual songs. I’m trying to make a complete, classic project. I just do my music uninfluenced by anybody else, or current trends, and it comes together at the end.”

Ferrell & Galifianakis Reunite

Find Your Soul in Florida You’re no doubt aware by now that Australia’s first annual jazz, neo-soul and hip hop festival, Soulfest, is taking place a little later in the year. Well, how’s this for cool?! The festival is giving a lucky soul the chance to win flights, accommodation and two tickets to see one of the festival’s stars, Maxwell, perform at Florida’s Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre on August 2.

Simply purchase your Soulfest ticket before June 30 for automatic entry.

The Used & Taking Back Sunday

PS Vita Slim Has Arrived

So, The Used and Taking Back Sunday are heading our way for a co-headlining tour shortly. The two punk rock heavyweights have been touring together in the States and by all accounts the shows have been killer. The Used have been around the traps since 2001, releasing their latest album, Imaginary Enemy, this year. Formed in 1999, Taking Back Sunday has also released their latest, Happiness Is, this year. 170 Russell – August 25.

June 4 is when the PS Vita Slim (PCH-2000) has its launch in Australia.

As the name suggests, the handheld gaming system is a little lighter, slimmer and sleeker than its predecessor. The five-inch touchscreen is

The Flaming Beatles Late October sees the release of With a Little Help from My Fwends, The Flaming Lips’ track-fortrack tribute to The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band. You have no doubt heard bits and pieces about the album, including that it features an appearance from Miley Cyrus and Moby on ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’. 2009 saw the release of the band’s tribute to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. now LCD rather than OLED. The Slim will sting you $269.95 and is bundled with a 1GB memory card. CNET has written up a decent review which you can take a squiz at through cnet. com/au/products/sonyplaystation-vita-2000.

The Mule Finds a Home Screening at SXSW in March, The Mule is the

When Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis teamed up for the 2012 politicallyedged comedy The Campaign there was a fair amount of buzz. The end result, however, divided opinion.

Now the two are set to reunite for Larry’s Kidney, a film based on the story of Daniel Asa Rose, a writer and newspaper editor pulled into some very shady dealings in order to help his cousin secure an organ transplant.

Richard Linklater (‘Before’ trilogy) is set to direct.

joint effort of Saw cocreator Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson. The sweet news is that it looks as though the film, about a local Melbourne footy hero who gets caught up in smuggling drugs, has been picked up by XLrator Media for distribution in the US. Whannell and Sampson both star in the film, while Hugo Weaving, Ewen Leslie and Noni Hazlehurst co-star.

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THE

fortnightly calendar proudly presented by music workshop

THU 29 MAY ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night THE MAX HOTEL: Parmi All Day All Night $14, InnQUIZitive Trivia from 7.30pm till 10.30pm, amazing prizes, call to book your team’s spot THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 PISTOL PETE: Josh Dance EDGE: Live Music and DJs THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTLEMAINE): Morning After Morning. Waltz BLACK HATT: Tradies Night 5-7 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live and Local, $13 Pizza night MARTIANS CAFE: $20 International Night including drink UNWIND CELLAR BAR: John-Luke Shelley LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard GIN & CO SUPPER CLUB: Official Grand Opening Party from 7pm EUREKA: Thirsty Thursday with Traffic Light Party with DJ’s Kate Niall, Steve Toppa,Dawson, Simon One, Shorty J, Max Mckay, Pinky, Akybakez BEAVS BAR: Dave Anderson BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia Night from 7pm

FRI 30 MAY THE BARWON CLUBBrant BJork & Low Desert Punks, Bruce!, The Dukes of Deliciousness CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind with live music then DJ ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday HOME HOUSE: HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with DJs, Steve Camp, Simon One, Keith Evans & DJC EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ PISTOL PETE: Tristen Bird OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: JD Desperately Seeking UNWINED CELLAR BAR (BELMONT): John-Luke Shelley ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: 8pm - Sam Fletcher THE LOFT (WARNAMBOOL): King Parrot THE BARWON HEADS

HOTEL: Dead Letter Circus- The Insider Tour.

Happy Hour 5-7, Meat Raffle & Members Draw THE LORD NELSON: Happy Hour 5pm-7pm LIGHTHOUE THEATRE (WARRNAMBOOL): Todd Mckenney sings Peter Allen BIRD ROCK CAFÉ (Jan Juc): Happy our 5:30-7:30 BALLARAT LOUNGE ROOM: Salsa Magic, Thomas Showy Dance Melgarejo and Los Locos.

Fridays 6-8pm free THE BABUSHKA CAFE AND LOUNGE (Ballarat): Sons Of The Blues BLACK HATT: Off The Hook NEWMARKET HOTEL (BENDIGO): Jam Session GOLDEN VINE HOTEL (BENDIGO): The Bridesmaids GOLD DUST LOUNGE (BENDIGO): The Gastones PUGS/METRO (BENDIGO): Min and the Colin Band GOLDMINES HOTEL (BENDIGO): Billroy Buzzard THEATRE ROYAL (BENDIGO): Backsliders WHEREVER (BENDIGO): Tink BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Fully Loaded

SAT 31 MAY HER MAJESTYS BALLARAT- 1984

by George Orwell MARTIANS CAFEDream Boogie THE BARWON CLUB: Propaghandi, Crisis Alert, Away From Now ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Hey Charger OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Top Jimmy ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: 8pm - Luke Pote HOME HOUSE: Upstairs: Nick Coleman, Samuel James, dancefloor hit Karbon Downstairs: Best RNB & Hip Hop with DJ Surrender PISTOL PETES: Brian Fraser THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Paul Woseen THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTELMAINE): The Steinbecks and The Glory Box UWINED CELLAR BAR: Zac and Eliza GEELONG RSL: Horizon Duo BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan

Juc): Live Music DJRJMC and Happy Hour 5-7pm NEWMARKET HOTEL (BENDIGO): Black Aces GOLDEN VINE HOTEL (BENDIGO): The Alisons GOLD DUST LOUNGE (BENDIGO): Blue Mountain OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (BENDIGO): Top Jimmy EDGE GEELONG: Live music and DJ CITY QUARTER BAR: Live Music and DJ GPAC: APIA Good Times Tour BEAVS BAR: Steve Pianto WHISPERS: Coming up: DJ’s including Aston shuffle, Andy Murohy, Ruby Rose, John Dahlback, Slice n Dice, Jam Xpress, New World Sound, Jack n Jill, Mic Newman, Apocalypto, John Course, Zoolanda, Jebu, Jane Daffy, Butters, Generik, Tigerlily, Hey Sam, Katt Niall, Fake Forward, Katie Valentine, Mike Metro, Valdalism, Benson, Courtney Mills THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Thom

SUN 1 JUNE OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: DSC School GIG THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTLEMAINE): Grumpy Neighbour BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Kids Eat Free 3:30-6:30, Steak and Parma Night, Happy Hour 3:30-5:30 ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: SUNDAY O SUNS - Sam Fletcher, Nick Deman, Mick Tinta, Geoff Pink GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery Lunch GPAC: Taylor Henderson CITY QUARTER: Perfect Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm THE LOFT (WARNAMBOOL): Cider Sundays with live music in the afternoon EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Jazz from 3-6pm and Parmi Night LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE WARRNAMBOOL: 2014 City of Warrnambool EisteddfodSociety Inc.

MON 2 JUNE HER MAJESTYS BALLARAT- 1984

by George Orwell ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night THE LORD NELSON

HOTEL: Parmi & Pot for $15 on presentation of student I.D THE SPHINX HOTEL: Meals for $11

TUE 3 JUNE GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 PISTOL PETES: Open Mic Night BLACK HATT: Bachata Dance Classes GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night

WED 4 JUNE GEELONG RSL: Pot and Parmi Night $13 BLACK HATT: Cuban Salsa Dance Classes BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Shit Trivia and Mexican Night PISTOL PETES: Soul-SKA Night EDGE: Boutique Breweries Night 6-9pm ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8pm. Have fun win prizes book a table GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50 BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Kareoke & Dave Anderson THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm

THU 5 JUNE THE KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat)- The Bennies GPAC- 1984 by George Orwell BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live and Local, $13 Pizza night THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTELMAINE): Rhth, Golden Gate Jumpers PISTOL PETE: Josh Dance BLACK HATT: Tradies Night 5-7 THE BABUSHKA CAFE AND LOUNGE (Ballarat): Tim Hudspith ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: 6pm jazz n Blues LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard THE MUSIC MAN MEGASTORE: The Playbook and The Drive Home as well as The Revengers, SlyDekrieg and The Filthy Hacks THE MAX HOTEL: Parmi All Day All Night $14, InnQUIZitive Trivia from 7.30pm till 10.30pm, amazing prizes, call to book your team’s spot ELEPHANT &

CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night THE LOFT (WARNAMBOOL): Salsa and Latin Street Dance Classes GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free MARTIANS CAFE: $20 International Night including drink EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia Night from 7pm THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 BEAVS BAR: Thelma Plum (band room), Andy Forster (main room) EUREKA: Thirsty Thursday with Tigerlily, Katie Valentine, Katt Naill and local resident DJ’S

FRI 6 JUNE GPAC- 1984 by George Orwell HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with DJs, Steve Camp, Simon One, Keith Evans & DJC BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Happy Hour 5:30-7:30 OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Performance Night PISTOL PETES: Doc White (MELB) KAROVA LOUNGE (BALLARAT): Jessie Andrews THE MUSIC MAN MEGASTORE: Sydonia ‘Reality Kicks’,Zelorage, I Am Duckeye, Ergasia ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Nick deman, Sam Flecther, Forever Son THE LOFT (Warrnambool): AROCKALYPSE- Tank Dilemma, Buddha In A Chocolate Box and the mighty Kashmere Club BLACK HATT: Rocker THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTELMAINE): Harry Hookey, Luke Watt THE BABUSHKA CAFE AND LOUNGE (Ballarat): 4TRESS BALLARAT LOUNGE ROOM: Ballarat Goes Bollywood- Geelong Bollywood Dance Group, OM Music Group, Australia, SpektraFlash Lighting. Fridays 6-8pm free UNWINED CELLAR BAR: Famous Will THE BARWON CLUB: Wagons, Johnny Fritz, Murdena PORTARLINGTON: National Celtic Festival

THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Happy Hour 5-7, Meat Raffle & Members Draw THE LORD NELSON: Happy Hour 5pm-7pm EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with live entertainment and DJ WHEREVER (BENDIGO): Basenji BEAVS BAR: Hayden Scott THE MAX: 3 on at Tree THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: The Regular Boys

SAT 7 JUNE GPAC- 1984 by George Orwell MARTIANS CAFECarus Thompson CITY QUARTER: Live entertainment THE BARWON CLUB: King of the North, Destrends, Ironside, The Dirty F Holes THE NEWMARKET (Bendigo): Live Bands BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live Music, DJRJMC, and Happy Hour 5-7pm EDGE: Live Music and DJ OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Untapped ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: 7pm - Guy Perkins, Eric Stribley, Jimmy Graham HOME HOUSE: UpstairsStan Grav’s, Matt Watkins Downstairs: DJ Crunk PISTOL PETES: Dave Diprose (MELB) THE LOFT (Warrnambool): AROCKALYPSEBlackwood Jack, Tom Richardson Project and Aurora Jane PORTARLINGTON: National Celtic Festival THE BABUSHKA CAFE AND LOUNGE (Ballarat): Curtis Why UNWINED CELLAR BAR:Dave Doorman’s open mic THE MUSIC MAN MEGASTORE: Superguns, Oppressons, Spook The Banshee, Path of Destruction, Drifter, Outlines, Jay Sea, Chase The Ace, Morth, Past Present and more!

CASTELMAINE: Jazz Festival GPAC: Dave Hughes LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARNAMBOOL):

Dance Studio 101 BEAVS BAR: Steve Pianto WHISPERS: Coming up: DJ’s including Aston shuffle, Andy Murohy, Ruby Rose, John Dahlback, Slice n Dice, Jam Xpress, New World Sound, Jack n Jill, Mic Newman, Apocalypto, John Course, Zoolanda, Jebu, Jane Daffy, Butters, Generik, Tigerlily, Hey Sam, Katt Niall THE MAX: Frequency THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Cam Bryce

SUN 8 JUNE THE KAROVA LOUNGE (BALLARAT): Wagons BIRD ROCK CAFÉ (Jan Juc): Kids Eat Free 3:30-6:30, Steak and Parma Night, Happy Hour 3:30-5:30 THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTLEMAINE): Grumpy Neighbour GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery lunch OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Harry Hookey- Alt/ Folk/Rock/Roots THE LOFT (Warrnambool): AROCKALYPSE- Dallas Frasca, Sex On Toast, The Harlots, Aurora Jane, The Go Set, Jack Jack Jack, Sun God Replica, The Pretty Littles, Blue Heat, The Hidden Venture, Alfa Tides, King Evil, Mick Ferguson, Jordan Lockett, Ebonie Hyland, Cobey Fletcher, Clint Williams, Brady James, Pete Janes, Bill O’Connell, Jake Gellert and Alex Francis CASTELMAINE: Jazz Festival THE MUSIC MAN MEGASTORE: Tin McMillan Band, Merideth and The SmokeyTrashcans, Tayler Hocking, Bill Barber Duo and more live acoustic action ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: SUNDAY O SUNS - TBA PORTARLINGTON: National Celtic Festival HOMEHOUSE: UPSTAIRS: Reece Low, Rimmy VS TWhite DOWNSTAIRS: best RNB & Hip Hop with DJ Kay Z EUREKA: Peking Duk, Generik, Lesware, Dawson, Max Mckay, Steve Toppa, Simone One and more!

GPAC: Doris (Starring Melinda Schneider) THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17 EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ CITY QUARTER: Perfect

Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Jazz from 3-6pm and Parmi Night GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery Lunch THE MAX: Wooshka BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan THE PIER: Queens Birthday Bash by Inxsive, Good Face for Radio.

Tickers $75 before May 31. $90 after

MON 9 JUNE THE LOFT (Warrnambool): AROCKALYPSEChill out session GEELONG RSL: Members Draw, over $3000 in prizes to be won!

PORTARLINGTON: National Celtic Festival ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night BARWON CLUB: $10 Parmis LORD NELSON HOTEL: Parmi & Pot for $15 on presentation of student I.D THE SPHINX HOTEL: Meals for $11

TUE 10 JUNE GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 PISTOL PETES: Open Mic Night BLACK HATT: Bachata Dance Classes BALLARAT MECHANICS INSTITUTE: Dawn of Midi LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARNAMBOOL): The Glenn Miller Orchestra GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night

WED 11 JUNE COLAC OTWAY PERFORMING ARTS & CENRTE CULTURAL1984 by George Orwell GEELONG RSL: Pot and Parmi Night $13 BLACK HATT: Cuban Salsa Dance Classes BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Shit Trivia Mexican Night PISTOL PETES: Soul-SKA Night THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8pm. Have fun win prizes book a table GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50 BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Kareoke and Luke Biscan

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18 forte

DZ DEATHRAYS feature STORY Written by Natalie Rogers

Lennon & McCartney, Jagger & Richards, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – throughout history select musical duos have exemplified a special chemistry. Enter Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley of DZ Deathrays. Since mainlining their brand of thrashpop-punk into our systems with their 2012 ARIA Award-winning debut Bloodstreams, DZ Deathrays have toured abroad and locally, perpetually hungover and having a blast! I caught up with drummer Simon Ridley ahead of the release of their sophomore album Black Rat (out now through I OH YOU).

At the start of our chat the line is fuzzy, dropping in and out. Soon the feeling of frustration is mutual. “Isn’t it amazing that you can get email and Facebook on your phone these days, but they haven’t been able to get them to do the one thing they’re meant to do well?” Very true – this man is wise.

When the line becomes clearer our talk turns to their recent SXSW adventure. “We ended up doing about ten shows in four days! We just destroyed ourselves, so in that sense I’m glad that’s over,” Simon laughed.

While there, Simon said that he and Shane did nothing but eat, gig, sleep – repeat; however, a couple of sets caught their interest. “There was a band called Diarrhea Planet, they were great, and another act that played before us a few times at different venues called Tony … something. I can’t quite remember. It was just this one guy. He’d play pop-punk songs with a metal breakdown, but he was hilarious. He was so good.”

Having travelled to over fifteen countries in the last few years, Shane and Simon have become connoisseurs of the live gig and have specific ideas about what makes a killer show. “There has to be pyrotechnics!”

Simon joked. “Seriously though, just seeing a band believing in what they’re doing, rocking out, that’s

all I wanna see. I’m over seeing all the laptop bands – they’re everywhere, especially in the US. They’re indie bands – they don’t need computerised back tracks. So bands that are all real are so refreshing.”

With that, Simon’s thoughts turn to the making of Black Rat. “That’s what we try to be, and on a whole the reception so far has been really good. We were nervous putting out ‘Northern Lights’,” Simon admitted, “but we wanted something that would be seen as a curveball, and we’ve always wanted to do our version of a Bon Jovi or Mötley Crüe ballad. “‘Gina Works at Hearts’ is pretty classic of our sound, so we knew it would get everyone on board. I really like ‘Gina’ – that’s one of my favourites. And ‘Less Out of Sync’. Those two songs are a lot of fun to play.”

Simon tells me they wanted Black Rat to have a very distinct after-dark feel and electronic overtones are evident on tracks ‘Night Slave’, ‘Tonight Alright’ and ‘Fixations’. “The band’s sound has changed: the new songs are definitely a lot more refined. On our first album [Bloodstreams] we’d always have screamy vocals over the chorus, with tons of cymbals.

This time we wanted to make the songs catchier and have each track stand alone from the rest.”

With help from producer and good friend Burke Reid, Black Rat began to take shape amid a beergoggled haze. “I’d never really met Burke before – I’d only talked to him briefly on Skype or over email.

The first night we met we must have drank a million beers together and from then on we were best friends! We get on so well, so recording together went smoothly. It just felt like hanging out with a friend.”

Although Simon reiterated that the recording process for Black Rat was relaxed, I couldn’t help but wonder if either felt pressure to surpass their debut, ARIA Award-winning effort. “Bloodstreams did so much better than anything we could have imagined or anticipated!” Simon explained. “To us it wasn’t like having to follow-up the giant Temper Trap album or anything. We felt there was no risk or fear of failure. I would hate to be one of those bands that have to back up a massive internationally acclaimed album – we can just chill, which is great!”

However, Simon admits that their laid-back party lifestyle may come back to bite them soon. “I’ve got more out of shape from all the drinking, but that’s probably it. The party lifestyle hasn’t caught up to me yet, but I haven’t been to a doctor recently either, so… ”

From all accounts, Simon may need that check-up imminently, having just spent the last month touring nationally with buddies in tow – WA’s Foam and Sydneysiders, Palms. “We’re so lucky to have our mates join us on tour. We heard about Foam two or three years ago through a friend, and we’ve had them open our WA shows ever since. They’re awesome – really good guys making rad music that we love. And Palms – we’ve been friends with some of those guys for nearly ten years. They’re all legends. We just hang out and drink with them in Sydney or whenever we see them. It’s been so much fun having them on tour.”

After their last show in Sydney this weekend – and providing they get the all clear from the doc – Simon and Shane will be winging it back to the UK for the 2000trees Festival in Cheltenham.

“After that, hopefully we’ll be back and forth from Europe and the US. We hope to be going pretty strong ’til the end of the year – but we’ll definitely be back for Splendour in the Grass!”

When&Where: Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay - Sunday July 27 2014

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

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Taking Back Sunday Written by Natalie Rogers

Happiness means different things to different people – delight, good cheer, glee. All the feelings at Forte when we heard Taking Back Sunday and The Used would be back in Australia coheadlining five highly-anticipated shows this August. And to make the news even sweeter, Taking Back Sunday’s guitarist John Nolan called in for a chat.

“We’re really excited to be bringing this tour to Australia – it’s been great in the States and I think it’s going to be great there, too.”

John’s use of the word “great” may be a slight understatement – from New York to L.A. critics and fans alike have raved about the interest and intensity these shows created.

“We’ll both play headline sets; we wanted these shows to be a big thank you to everyone that has stuck with us through the years, so we plan to play songs from every album and really mix it up so every night is different.”

Taking Back Sunday has a solid repertoire to choose from. Since forming fifteen years ago as a “scrappy punk act” they’ve been a constant on the international hardcore-punk scene despite line-up changes, in-fighting and record label disputes. “Every band has their up and downs,” John concedes, before admitting 2014’s Happiness Is was an exercise in freedom.

“Happiness Is is our sixth studio album, and finally we felt comfortable, relaxed and confident about what we were doing. During the recording we learnt to let go, we let go of the idea that Taking Back Sunday has to sound a certain way. That felt really liberating!

“I am so proud of this record it’s hard to pick a favourite, but one of them is ‘It Takes More’. At the end the song takes an interesting twist and that’s thanks to our (longtime collaborator/friend) producer Mike Sapone. He was integral in the making of the album and we always have fun.

“We’re in a really good place as a band and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate that and the new record than going out on tour with our buddies The Used. We’re doing a bunch of festivals together this summer but we’ll also have some downtime, so we’ll be refreshed and ready to go come August!”

John says he’s looking forward to being shown around by a local – new Australian resident, The Used’s frontman and pal Bert McCracken. “I hope we get

at least a little time off, though I did notice that we just kind of go back to back with every show. It’s going to be very intense. But I love Australia. In the past I’ve even taken trips at the end of the tour cycle, so I’ll definitely try to work something out so we can all have a day off.”

It’s clear Taking Back Sunday loves Australia, and it seems

When&Where: 170 Russell – August 25 & 26

the feeling’s mutual. The Melbourne show sold-out completely, leaving promoters no choice but to add another. “Thank you so much Victoria, I can’t wait. See you at the show!”

Gary Numan Written by Natalie Rogers

Gary Numan is a man that should need no introduction – but allow me to try. He was the first UK electric act to hit No. 1 – a feat he achieved twice in 1979 with ‘Are Friends Electric?’ and ‘Cars’. He counts Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Dave Navarro, Alan Wilder from Depeche Mode, and the cast of The Mighty Boosh as close friends.

In his career spanning thirty-five years he’s released 20 studio albums, earning him the title of ‘Godfather of all Electronic Music’.

“I still can’t dance for shit!” he joked when we caught up ahead of the Australian leg of the ‘Splinter’ tour. “I’m not sitting here thinking I’m anything special or God’s gift to music.

When I sit down in the studio, I still think fuck! What am I going to do? And I panic.”

Honest, humble and human are three words that best describe Gary Numan in 2014. Everything was on the table – his battle with depression, the breakdown of his marriage, and his feelings of awkwardness while on stage in the early days.

“The good thing about this tour is that we’ve done a fair bit of it already – we’ve done Britain, Europe and America, so we’re pretty slick now!” he laughed. “You might even say I’m comfortable with what I’m doing…”

But as you may already have guessed, that was not always the case. “Confidence has always been a real

issue for me, unfortunately. When I first started out I had no experience on stage and I wasn’t very good, and I knew it! I couldn’t dance – I couldn’t move around much at all. I used to practise everything in the mirror and it was so contrived and awkward. I really wanted to be better, but that’s what it was. I was twentyone. I didn’t know what I was doing.

“I got lots of criticism back in the day – if I’m honest, much of it was deserved. But now that I’ve been doing it for thirty-five years, I’m more comfortable being on stage and touring than anything else in my life.

It couldn’t be more opposite. Now I absolutely love it. Splinter has brought a new level of energy back to the crowd and it’s really exciting for me and for the band. I’ve enjoyed this last year of touring more than anything I’ve done before. It’s been amazing.”

Gary also credits Splinter with helping to pull him out of a very dark hole. “When I started writing the songs for Splinter I wasn’t better – a lot of the things were still going on. There’s a song on the record called ‘Lost’ which is probably the gentlest song on the album. When I wrote that song I was

When&Where: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne – May 30

still in trouble and my wife and I were having real problems in our marriage.” Gary continued candidly. “We came quite close to splitting up at one point and it was that song, or writing that song, that saved us. “I started to write about what it would be like if she wasn’t there and it helped me to … (sorry, this is going to sound very corny) fall in love with her all over again.

“I remember clearly after I wrote that song going back into the house and apologising to [wife] Gemma, realising I was about to make the most terrible mistake. In the next few weeks we talked over everything and I think that’s when I really started to get better, realising just what an absolute

dickhead I’d been before that!” Gary said with a chuckle.

“Songwriting is like talking to a therapist except you’re talking to yourself. But you’re still thinking about things very deeply. Without sounding too arty-farty, I really believe in it, and it’s even exciting to me.

“I can’t wait to play these shows; I think we’ve found a good balance of new and old. It makes for a very heavy, aggressive, powerful set. But I don’t want to trick anybody – we’re not doing retro or anything nostalgic.

It’ll be a night of very hardcore electronic music.”

Dead Letter Circus Written by Tex Miller

Although Kim Benzie, lead singer for Dead Letter Circus, was in Officeworks at the time that I called through for the interview, it wasn’t for a packet of HB pencils. It was indeed for an upcoming film clip to be filmed on tour over the next few months for their track ‘Alone Awake’.

“When we play these songs live man, fuck sometimes the crowd sing the lyrics louder than we can play through a PA and so we really want to capture that vibe, and so that is one of the really exciting aspects of Dead Letter Circus at the moment.”

If you are a Dead Letter Circus devotee, you will undoubtedly know the band released their sophomore album The Catalyst Fire in 2013.

Released on UNFD music, an indie record label compared to their debut which came out on Warner, the response has been pretty similar, as Benzie relates. “The way that record labels work is that they do a lot at a very exorbitant rate. UNFD are a great bunch of guys and some of the best ideas didn’t cost us any money at all. I definitely prefer being on an independent label. It’s a lot less stressful.”

Having already toured the country in support of their second album, the band has been writing and working tirelessly on the follow-up. This upcoming run of dates allows for the band to distance 20 forte

themselves from the ‘hermit life’, which they tend to lead when they’re not on the road. “Getting back on stage and playing in front of people is a little bit confronting at first because we have been away so long; [however], it didn’t take long to get back into the swing of things. Last night (the first gig of the tour) was the best that it could be.

I kind of felt like I couldn’t shed the Napoleon Dynamite though.”

One of the dates on this tour, the Big Pineapple Music Festival in Queensland, was a different experience and learning curve for the band as Dead Letter Circus have mainly played club shows throughout their career. “It’s great playing alongside these bands that mostly only play festivals because we get to see how the big boys do it. In club gigs, you are so close to the audience you can sweat on and almost touch them.

It’s a fair bit different and intimate than being four metres away, which happens at festivals most of the time.”

Self-funding most of their international touring towards the end of last year, it seems that Dead Letter Circus is living on a diet of cuppa

When&Where: Barwon Heads Hotel, Barwon Heads – May 30

soup and two minute noodles because it is so cheap, and have in turn sparked their inner Jamie Oliver. “We could do a cooking segment on how to cook mi goreng, tuna and brown rice. One of the cool things that we are doing on this tour is we are filming a documentary of our travels as we go. So if someone wants to pay us hundreds of dollars, we will come to your house and cook you

the best two minute noodles you’ve ever had.”

After this tour, Dead Letter Circus is looking at re-issuing their second album in a very different way. With different sounds and influences coming into the mix, the band is set to return later in the year for another tour. Although tight-lipped about it at the time of the interview, keep your eyes peeled for all the news as it unfolds.

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“We showcase some of the greatest talent from around the country, and at times the world, and night after night we are blown away by the quality of many of the acts that hit our stage.” pg.25

" Like its sister establishment, Two Sugars Pakington Street offers diners a distinguishably Italian experience in warm, open surroundings with throwbacks to the restaurants heritage..." pg.31

"This is my first time coming to Australia... It’s a very quick trip as we have a gig in Liverpool two days after the Celtic festival, but we are all very much looking forward to coming Down Under." pg.27

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EMC Group’s Golden Days EMC Group Geelong represents several hospitality venues in Geelong and they have three absolutely killer shows coming your way in June. June 4 at The Edge is Boutique Breweries Night with Southern Bay Brewery.

Having been around for almost 30 years, Southern Bay Brewery has a reputation for brewing some of the finest craft beers in Australia. This special night will feature beer tastings and nibbles, as well as talks with a brewery ambassador. 6 p.m. onwards.

June 8 sees The Pier hosting a little Queen’s birthday bash with INXS tribute act Inxsive and party staters Good Faces 4 Radio. 3 p.m. onwards.

Early bird tickets (until May 31) are $75. Tickets include drinks and finger foods. June 15 at Lamby’s is the Epic Party Crew of Ricci from Geordie Shore, Emily Williams and DJ Digital Damage. Sweaty times await you with that one. Enjoy.

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“We’ve got heaps going on – it’s going to be shitloads of fun!”

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Hitch Your Wagons It has been three long, dry years since Wagons last toured Australia.

And that is just a little too long.

Fortunately, the shackled and drawn band has announced two bits of good news: an album, titled Acid Rain and Sugar Cane (out now), and a tour. Bandleader Henry Wagons: “Long, loud and pleasurable in the making, this album was sewn together in the midst of a beautifully dynamic creative tornado formed between Wagons and co-producer Mick Harvey.” The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 6 & The Karova, Ballarat – June 8.

A King Among Men Oh yeah, it doesn’t come much cooler than this. King Buzzo, aka Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, has announced a ten-date solo acoustic tour – his first of Australia.

A founding member and frontman of the Melvins, Buzz has a career that spans 31 years, 30 albums and thousands of live performances. At the end of the month he will release his solo acoustic debut, This Machine Kills Artists. While this may seem like a strange change of pace for fans of the Melvins, Buzz actually writes a majority of the band’s songs on acoustic guitar before transferring them to the electric. Buzz: “What I’m doing, it’s not folk music, it’s not heavy metal. It’s ‘molk’, how ’bout that?” The Barwon Club, Geelong – August 14 & Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne – August 15.

From G-Town to Motown You would be hard-pressed to find anyone in Geelong who has not heard of the Sweethearts. The soul fusion band is the combined talents of 25 teenage girls from Geelong. Celebrating their 25th anniversary, the Sweethearts are eyeing their first US tour. The Sweethearts operate exclusively in professional settings, the only school band to do so, playing on average 50 shows per year at festivals, clubs and corporate events. They have played the European festival circuit, including several performances at Montreux, and in 2012 headlined a night at Italy’s Porretta Soul Festival. America, however, is the big one – and this is where you can help. The gals have taken to crowdfunding site Pozible to raise the funds to get them there. As this is a promotional tour, the Sweethearts will not be paid for the majority of their gigs. It is going to cost around $1000 per Sweetheart, which is enough to cover the cost of a seat on a tour bus and a bed to sleep in for the duration of their 12-day stay. The tour is no walk in the park, either. They will be travelling some 2600km on a grassroots, tough-slog tour. Pledges close June 6 and as always there are some ripper rewards up for grabs. The line-up of the Sweethearts changes each year as members must leave when they graduate high school.

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Bring on the Arockalypse Last issue we gave you a little teaser about The Loft’s mighty Arockalypse show. And because we’re not the kind of folk to leave you hanging, here is the full rundown in all its glory.

Entering its third year, Arockalypse will welcome some 29 bands. And as the old saying goes, ‘29 bands?! Hell yeah, give me a little of that sweet bippy’.

It all kicks off on Friday, June 6 with Kashmere Club, Tank Dilemma and Buddha in a Chocolate Box. The good times then continue on the Saturday, with Tom Richardson Project, Aurora Jane and Blackwood Jack on hand.

The big day, however, is on the Sunday, where a 12hour slab of tunes hits you like a ton of bricks. Dallas Frasca, Sex On Toast, The Harlots, Aurora Jane, The Go Set, Jack Jack Jack, Sun Gold Replica, The Pretty Littles, Blue Heat, The Hidden Venture, Alfa Tides, King Evil, Mick Ferguson, Jordan Lockett, Ebonie Hyland, Cobey Fletcher, Clint Williams, Brady James, Pete James, Bill O’Connell, Jake Gellert and Alex Francis will perform, as well as an open mic winner. Monday, June 9 will also serve up another day of tunes – and a little recovery. Tickets: Friday and Saturday passes – $15; Sunday pass – $20; and full weekend pass – $30. Tickets are available through Oztix.

A Lasting Imprint Violinist and vocalist William Stahlut and Linden Lester are the musical souls behind The Imprints, a little duo with a big sound and a whole lot of energy. Using a loop station and a guitar effects pedal, the duo creates bass, synth and guitar-like sounds. Since their 2010 beginnings, the duo has performed at festivals including Glastonbury, Edinburgh, Beat Herder, Small World, Rainbow Serpent and Apollo Bay Music Festival, while between them they have recorded with artists including Goldfrapp, Cinematic Orchestra, Adalita, Blue King Brown, Yasmin Levy, Little Birdy, Opiuo, Diana Anaid and The Bombay Royale.

Earlier this year the duo released Reflections, a 10-track album featuring their debut EP of the same name in original and revamped mode.

M.A.D.E Theatre, Ballarat – June 13.

The Warfare of Malakyte Heavy-hitters Malakyte are thrilled to return to the Victorian stage, playing three shows back-to-back, including a couple of regional dates. The metal outfit formed out of the suburbs of Brisbane 22 forte

A Day on the Green w/ Roxette As part of their Australian tour, Roxette will headline an all-star cast at A Day on the Green.

Roxette’s Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle first met in the late 1970s. At the time both were part of other outfits before later embarking on solo journeys. Jump ahead a little, and it was Roxette’s second album, 1988’s Look Sharp!, which made a broad impact. Singles ‘The Look’, ‘Listen to Your Heart’, ‘Dressed for Success’ and ‘Dangerous’ made the band an international hit. 1991’s Joyride gave the band another US #1 single via its titular track.

Roxette will be joined by Eurogliders, Dragon and Boom Crash Opera at Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley on February 21. Per Gessle: “We are beyond thrilled to head back to Australia, a stunning country with beautiful fans who have remained some of our most loyal supporters over the last 25 years … Marie, the band and I are ready and raring to go with a brand new show full of our best hits and a few surprises.” in 2010 and has been quick to land some major highlights, including performances alongside Anthrax, Municipal Waste and Alestorm. Their support role has not gone unnoticed. Themusic. com.au’s Tom Hersey: “Malakyte don’t play like your average support band … Instead, the five-piece play like they should be onstage … which means that the crowd responds with a hell of a lot more than the polite indifference generally afforded to the support band.” The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 20 & Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – June 22. In Malice’s Wake, Requiem and Chase the Ace join them at both shows.

The Bridesmaid Has Kids There is going to be a distinctly local flavour at Bendigo’s Golden Vine Hotel this weekend with The Bridesmaid and Jack and the Kids set to perform. The Bridesmaid started out as a one-man show but has developed into the power trio of Albert Skipper, Jim Marshall and Keith MacQueen. In March the band gave us a little teaser with ‘Good Keep Me’. You may have also caught Forte’s recent story on Keith and the band. Joining them will be Jack and the Kids. Jack Kennedy formed Jack and the Kids as a solo project, making his debut early in 2013. These days the band is a four-piece. The indie/folk rock outfit

has performed with Wolfmother, British India and Snakadaktal. The Vine, Bendigo – May 30. * Note: this will be the debut live performance of The Bridesmaid.

The Misdiagnosed Harry Hookey Music scholar David Scott Kastan described The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album as “the most important and influential rock and roll album ever recorded”.

Harry Hookey is one such soul whose musical path was triggered by the album. From his website: “When I was 14 my Dad had a car accident which meant he drove a hire car around for a couple of weeks … Someone had left a copy of the Sergeant Pepper’s album in the CD player. That was it. I was hooked. I played it till the CD literally melted.”

Bob Dylan, too, played a major influence. Despite graduating with a Law degree in late 2012, music is what drives his heart and soul. Misdiagnosed is his debut. The Bridge, Castlemaine – June 6 & Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs – June 8.

Won’t You Be My Grumpy Neighbour Guess who has picked up residency at The Bridge in Castlemaine? Why it’s none other than “beerswilling toe tappers, beerspilling footstompers and

Stepping Out with Carus Thompson Another day, another Carus Thompson gig.

It seems that the songman has more days in a year with gigs than those without.

Not that anyone is complaining.

Because he is such a regular to the road, his story is pretty well known.

However, here is a brief recap: a boy from Freo forms Carus and the True Believers in the mid-nineties.

Often playing four to five times a week, Carus was soon touring with Jack Johnson and the John Butler Trio. In 2003 he releases his debut solo album, Songs from Martin Street; later that year, Live at the Norfolk. He has also released a sequel to his Norfolk album.

Carus has been on the road since earlier in the month and has gigs remaining at Martians Café, Deans Marsh on June 7 and Torquay Hotel, Torquay on June 8. beer-dilutin’ tearjerkers”, Grumpy Neighbour.

Playing what they call “fauxlk ’n’ roll”, the band has been sharing their musical treats for a touch over a decade. From their website: “Theirs is a narrative steeped in the blood, sweat and stories of a country and a myth and brought to fruition in a rich soil of finely manured imagination.

Grumpy Neighbour and their lazy dawg are folk from the country, and then some.” It is a month of Sundays at The Bridge for Grumpy Neighbour, kicking off on June 1.

Music gets underway at 4 p.m. * Note: Due to the Castlemaine Jazz Festival, there will be no gig on June 8.

The Crisp Peking Duk For those readers kind enough to read this little mag thoroughly, you would have noticed we spent time with the lads from Peking Duk last issue. The guys have had a massive 12 months, so the fact they squeezed in some time for us was much appreciated.

Anywho, in the interview Reuben shared the news about their forthcoming album, saying “Still working on it and still in the studio. We want to make sure it’s full of some really great tunes that all our fans can get behind. There’s lots of awesome people we are working with to turn our ideas into reality!” They also pumped up their tour, with Adam fielding the question this time: “Geelong is always a crazy time – I’m sure this time it will be something next level! We hope to see lots of sweat and singing along.” Eureka Hotel, Geelong – June 8.

Kickin’ it with The Steinbecks The Meadow brothers, Josh and Joel, were both teenagers when they first started playing gigs under The Sugargliders moniker. As we’ve seen many times in the music game, good things don’t always run smoothly and by 1994 the band was no more. Joel explained the band’s demise to Beat’s Cameron Adams at the time of the split: “The Sugargliders were developing into something which involved a whole lot more people … We had a choice of trying to change The Sugargliders or make a clean break and start something new.”

This new thing was The Steinbecks. Calling on old support including Robert Cooper, who had played with The Sugargliders on their last three singles, Adam ‘AD’ Dennis and Bianca Lew, the band recorded their first four tracks at AD’s home studio in late ’93 and early ’94, just a touch before The Sugargliders played their final gig. The full history of The Steinbecks can be found through their official website (it’s a lengthy but enjoyable read), but for now we’ll jump ahead to present day and the release of their latest album, Kick to Kick with The Steinbecks. Released in April of this year, the album features ‘Kick to Kick’, an electric guitarpop track dedicated to a cousin of the Meadow brothers. The Bridge, Castlemaine – May 31.

Healers of Hurt Tour Music can be a great healer.

So often we can find comfort in music when all else seems to fail. A little later in the year Marisa Quigley, Dean Haitani, Talisa Jobe and Skip will join forces to play three very special shows to warm the heart. Marisa Quigley, as well as fronting rhythm ’n’ blues outfit Chubby Rae & the Elevators, has carved out a solid career

as a solo performer. Her honours include a ‘Female Vocalist of the Year’ gong at the 2007 Australian Blues Music Awards. From the healing team: “If you find your heart is full of mixed emotions then this is definitely for you. Four different artists on stage at the same time going song for song and sharing stories of pain and laughter.” The Old Church on the Hill, Bendigo – August 8; The Bridge, Castlemaine – August 9; and Babushka, Ballarat – August 10.

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Queenscliff Fundraiser

Steve Lane and the Autocrats

Gil Askey Tribute Night

REMINDER: Next month, The Queenscliff Music Festival will host the Emerging Artist Grant Fundraiser, a little gig which provides a chance to catch some big tunes, as well as serving to encourage financial support for the next crop of Grant recipients. Stonefield and The Bombay Royale will both perform, as will 2013 Emerging Artist Grant recipients Yirrmal & the Yolngu Boys and The Sweethearts. The Emerging Artist Grant Fundraiser is an example of the relationship between the festival and the community that hosts it. The Grant’s purpose is to kick-start the careers of local musicians in the regions of Geelong, Barwon South West and the Bellarine Peninsula.

Point Lonsdale School Hall – June 14.

Steve Lane has been around. The musician, producer and songman has been in the music game long enough to have seen his son follow in his musical footsteps.

In 2012 Lane, along with his band The Autocrats, released their debut album, The Romance of Communication. The release was shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize. A different tune followed, with the band appearing on a Wiggles tribute album alongside Sarah Blasko, Clare Bowditch and The Living End. Next up was Birds Taking Flight, an album described as a more personal affair than their debut. Steve Lane and the Autocrats is Steve, Tim Lane (drums), Steve’s son Kai Lane-U’Ren (bass) and Jimmy Williams (guitar).The Bridge, Castlemaine – June 13.

They will be joined by The Lost Heart Sirens.

They didn’t come much better than Gil Askey.

Widely regarded as one of the architects of the Motown sound, and a man Benny Gordy referred to as “the glue that kept everything together”, the jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and musical director performed with all the greats – Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, to name a few. He was indeed a great himself. On the Queen’s birthday weekend Paul Williamson’s Hammond Trio will pay tribute to Askey, who passed away in April 2014. Paul (tenor or baritone sax, vocals) has performed in various guises with artists including Vince Jones, The Black Sorrows, The Jextet, Michelle Nicolle and The Moovin’ & Groovin’ Orchestra. The Piping Hot Chicken Shop – June 6.

Hot, Hot, Hot Club Swing

Joe Camilleri’s RnB Spectacular

The Superguns Fire One Off The best things in life are produced from late night / early morning drinking sessions. Sure, one can take a misstep here and there, but generally nine out of every ten experts agree that drinking sessions equals success.

The Superguns found themselves in this very position. After tying one on, the bunch of blokes reckoned they had what it took to form a stoner metal outfit – or a stoner metal werewolf destruction unit, as they prefer. Due to their energetic, dynamic and aggressive live show, the Melbourne outfit has been compared to the likes of Orange Goblin, Pantera, Kyuss and the Melvins. Last year saw the release of their self-titled debut EP. The Superguns is Jacky Boy on vocals, Aidan Barrett on guitar, Benny Langman on bass and Rene Badalassi on drums. The Loft, Warrnambool – June 21.

The lush sounds of Hot Club Swing will call Ballarat home this weekend. The French gypsy jazz outfit formed in the summer of ’97 in Geelong. Ben Calderazzo, Ben Cohen and violinist Phil Smurthwaite were the original gang, with Rob Gador joining the trio in ’98. Later, Tessa Lee would join the band on vocals in 2001. This, however, was short-lived, as Lee would leave for Perth the following year.

Her replacement was found in Nadine Joy. Last year saw the release of the band’s third album, Douce Ambiance. The Age: “Hot Club Swing capture a warm, swinging all-string sound taking audience hearts and imaginations captive … the band’s intuitive and empathic interplay is a feature of their live set.” The Main Bar, Ballarat – May 31.

Joe Camilleri is one of this country’s finest songmen.

He has been performing for more than fifty years and is an ARIA Hall of Fame inductee. The Black Sorrows, a band formed in 1984 following the demise of Jo Jo Zep & the Falcons, is perhaps his most well known, and loved, outfits. In early June a very special collaboration with Garland Jeffreys is to take place. Merging blues, rock, reggae and folk, Garland has performed with names including Dr John, Sonny Rollins, James Taylor, Pheobe Snow, Bruce Springsteen and Levon Helm. Joe Camilleri’s RnB Spectacular brings together passion, energy and soul that would be hard to beat. Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – June 7. * Note: Daniel Champagne supports. His latest release is The Gypsy Moon – Volume II.

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June @ GPAC As we say goodbye to another month we say hello to another big month at GPAC. Taylor Henderson gets things underway at the venue on June 1. Taylor spent many years songwriting and performing as a duo with his old man before reaching a wider audience when he became a finalist on Australia’s Got Talent in 2010. In 2013 he would again find the spotlight, this time through The X-Factor. George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel Ninety Eighty-Four (pictured) is brought to the stage of GPAC’s Playhouse Theatre across June 5, 6 & 7. The production has been created and adapted by Shake & Stir Theatre. A lighter show hits the venue on June 7 when funnyman Dave Hughes steps behind the mic. Dave stepped away from his radio and TV gigs to return to his first love, that of comedy. His new show is titled ‘Pointless’. On June 10 Cirque Mother Africa will take in a performance. A production seen by more than two-million worldwide, Cirque Mother Africa is a stunning feast of African traditions. Other shows in June include a tribute to Doris Day featuring Melinda Schneider (June 8); a production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (June 21-June 28); and a production of smash-hit Broadway musical RENT (starting June 27). For full details be sure to visit gpac.org.au.

Into the Night with the Pierce Brothers Jack and Pat Pierce are musical brothers in arms. And they’re doing just fine indeed.

The twins (Pat is the eldest by two minutes) have sold out shows at Cherry Bar, Ding Dong and Westernport among others. They have successfully toured the UK. And they have sold a very impressive 20,000 EPs independently.

The Night Tree is their latest release. The EP features single ‘It’s My Fault’, a track penned by Jack at Vietnam’s Hanoi Airport. From there, the track was recorded in Melbourne with Cam Trewin (Kingswood, Alpine). Spending three weeks on the EP, the release sees the lads exploring new ground.

The buzz for this family affair keeps getting louder. The Golden Vine, Bendigo – June 20.

are looking pretty sweet.

Performers include Alister Turrill, Lloyd Spiegel, Ian Collard, Jimi Hocking, Claude Hay, Jeff Achison, Andrea Marr & the Funky Hit Men, Benny Walker, Wayne Jury, Spoonful, Phil Manning, Sweet Felicia and the Honeytones, Luke Watt, Marshall Okell, Salty Dog, Doc White and our own Tex Miller with The Tex Miller

and Sandy Brady Blues Explosion. All up, more than forty acts will perform throughout the Port of Echuca’s heritage precinct and surrounding venues.

The festival takes place across July 26, 27 & 28. There’s plenty of accommodation available but make sure you get in quick.

Full details can be found through winterblues.com.au.

7:30-9:30

Winter Blues Festival The Echuca-Moama Winter Blues festival is taking place towards the end of July and things

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5:00- 7:00 5:30- 7:30 5:00- 6:00

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Dave Graney and the mistLY It’s kind of hard to keep track of Dave Graney.

He is a man who tends to get around a lot, whether it is through one of his many outfits or as a solo performer. Dave Graney and the mistLY has been a gig since 2007. Back then the band was known as The Lurid Yellow Mist, but each time a member left, the name was given a slight touch-up. Under the Lurid Yellow Mist the band released a couple of

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EPs and a couple of albums.

Under the mistLY they have released one album, 2012’s You’ve Been in My Mind. The Piping Hot Chicken Shop – June 13.

Aisha The Geisha If you’re into weird and wacky love stories then this one should be right down your alley. This musical comedy is the story of Aisha, a Kooweerup Dairy Farmer who becomes the worlds first foreign Geisha (which means artists or performing artist for those who didn’t know- because

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I sure didn’t!) and Aisha’s fiance Craig (captain of the Nar Nar Gons footy club) goes on a footy trip in Japan and falls in love with a beautiful Japanese girl, as you do. Aisha then leaves her dairy farm to go in search of Craig and bring him back home to their cows. Not your average love story and I think that’s why it’ll be such a hit amongst viewers. It’s held at the Potato Shed in Drysdale on 14th June and I reckon it’ll be a cracker. Tickets cost $25 for an Adult and $20 for concession and can be purchased from any Geelong customer service centres or online.

Winter Solstice One Act Plays

Queen’s Birthday Bash

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A shout-out to the Queen, an avid reader of Forte, for her birthday. Your belated present is in the mail. (Hint: it’s tube socks.) Sure, we know it was last month, but we wanted to send our well wishes and thank you for the holiday bestowed upon us. The Queen’s birthday weekend usually has venues around town serving up their own little celebrations, and The Pier is no different.

On Sunday, June 8 the Geelong venue is serving up a mid-afternoon treat featuring music and finger foods. Music-wise you have Inxsive and Good Faces 4 Radio. Inxsive, as you razor sharp readers may have guessed, is an INXS tribute act.

As with any good tribute band, Inxsive is not only dedicated to reproducing the sound of the great Australia band but also their live show. The band has been performing since 1998 and so have their act down to a fine art. Good Faces 4 Radio is your ultimate party band. Playing an extensive range of hits from the ’60s through to today, the band has over twenty years combined experience. The Pier’s Queen’s Birthday Bash kicks off at 3 p.m. Early bird tickets are $75 (prior to May 31 – be quick) and $90 thereafter. Includes finger food, beer, wine and soft drinks.

Follow us and keep up with all the latest news, interviews and heaps more cool goodies!

@forte_mag

A Date with Jessie Andrews Pornographic actress, jewellery designer, model, writer and DJ – as far as resumes go, this is one that would be difficult to forget. Born in Florida, Jessie Andrews moved to L.A. to pursue a career in the adult film business in late 2010. In 2012 she launched her own jewellery line, Bagatiba.

She has also modelled for American Apparel and RVCA and writes a sex column for Galore Magazine. Her first release as a DJ would come in 2012 when she released a remix for Anna Lunoe and Flume’s ‘I Met You’. Her skills as a DJ have seen her perform at Hollywood’s Mystery, Masquerade & Mayhem, Le Carmen in Paris and The Old Blue Last in London. Andrews touches down in Australia in June for a string of shows, kicking things off with a date at The Karova, Ballarat on June 6.

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I think we can all agree that at times, Winter weather can be crap and so the Potato Shed in Drysdale decided to do something about that! Presenting two unique nights of entertainment to warm you up over Solstice Weekend where the nights grow colder and the days feel mega short. There’ll be a fire, warming wine, music and two amazing once act plays. So instead of staying at home in front of the heater, head to the Potato Shed on either the 20th or 21st June from 8pm to sit by the fire and relax. Cost is $20 for an adult and $18 for concession, tickets can be purchased from any Geelong customer service centre or over the phone.

The Vibrators UK band The Vibrators are headed down under for their 2014 Aussie tour and they’re coming to Geelong!

If you’re into Punk Rock then you’re sure to love The Vibrators. The band performed 130 successful shows last year and reviews have said they definitely don’t disappoint as a live performance. They’ve been around for 37 years and there’s no sign of them slowing down. Regarded as one of the most influential bands of the 70’s within the punk epidemic and they’re songs have been covered by numerous artists ranging from REM to the UK Subs. Get along to see this great band on Sunday 22nd June at the Barwon Club in Geelong, you won’t regret it! Tickets through www.oztix.xom.au.

Panama Leads the Way Jump back, what’s that sound; here she comes, full blast and top down.

A far cry from the Van Halen song, but a segue is a segue. Growing up in the sticky heat of the Northern Territory, songwriter and classically trained pianist Jarrah McCleary (The Dirty Secrets) fronts Panama, the “hopeful house enthusiasts and purveyors of nostalgic electronic sounds”. The Future Classic favourite will be in Bendigo next month headlining a massive Queen’s birthday show at

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Star Bar. How massive?

Massive enough to have Jack and the Kids, Grim Fawkner, Reika, Valleé, Scalar Fields, Bandits, Bella Johnston, ANYONES and JVMANJI also performing.

You have live bands and DJs and a Monday to recover. Sounds like a sweet deal. Star Bar, Bendigo – June 8. 3 p.m. – 3 a.m.

The Reality of Sydonia This year has seen the release of Reality Kicks, the second full-length album from Sydonia. Since 1998 they have put out eleven releases including singles, EPs and a DVD. And they have done this while also earning the respect of Randy Blythe and Jim Root. They may have made fans wait a little while for their second fullplayer, but good things can take time. Kill Your Stereo: “While incorporating so many sounds into one record can often be a recipe for disaster as bands try too hard to reach every audience possible, this is not the case with Sydonia, as their newest album, Reality Kicks, manages to execute all these different elements of genres coherently.” You can check out a clip for the title track online. Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – June 6. Guests include Zelorage, I Am Duckeye and Ergasia.

Ciaram Granger’s Feeling Blue Ciaram Granger grew up in Warrnambool but has performed in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as much of Australia.

These days he is based in Adelaide. Blending blues and folk, Ciaram effortlessly incorporates guitar, weissenborn, cigar box guitar, harmonica, didgeridoo and stomp-box.

He is also pretty handy with effects. Having grown up in the seaside town of Warrnambool, the young songman’s music is heavily influenced by surfing and the sea. The Loft, Warrnambool – June 14.

Comedy Roadshow 2014 REMINDER: One of the best parts of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow. It is a chance for those who missed out on the big gig an opportunity to revel in some of Australia’s (and some fine international friends) finest funny men and women. The comedians tend to dig it, too, as they become like delirious drunken ramblers on a comedy odyssey.

Upcoming dates include: The Capital, Bendigo on June 11; APAC, Ararat on June 12; COPACC, Colac on June 13; Aireys Pub, Aireys Inlet on June 14; and Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat on June 27.

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what ' s on in the surf coast ?

Written by Daniel Waight

Hey there, guys! For anyone on the Surf Coast who wants to see some live music over the next couple of weeks, here’s a rundown of some upcoming gigs.

There’s something for everyone, and some of these shows you really won’t want to miss!

Saturday, May 31st Rock the Mole: Torquay Hotel, Torquay. 8.00 p.m Rock the Mole is a fundraising and awareness campaign for melanoma research.

Local bands Battle Axe Howlers, Macondo Blowout, A Gazillion Angry Mexicans and Kinloch Troons will all be playing. Entry is $15 and all proceeds go to the Melanoma Institute Australia. Great music for a great cause.

Dreamboogie: Martians Café, Deans Marsh. 7.30 p.m This Melbourne quartet has played at international blues festivals and their single, ‘My Baby Caught the Train’, was a download chart-topper in 2011.

They class themselves as a ‘modern blues band’ that aims to adapt the classic blues sound to today’s audiences.

Come and check them out at Martians.

James Sidebottom: Aireys Pub, Aireys Inlet. 8.30 p.m James Sidebottom is a self-taught guitarist and singer-songwriter from Geelong. He’s played in bands such as Last Five Days and Skylines and he composed the score for the 2011 film Any Questions for Ben? Come see his acoustic folk/pop selection at the Aireys Pub.

Friday, June 6th Abe Anderson: Torquay Hotel.

8.00 p.m Geelong acoustic musician Abe Anderson is coming to the Torquay Hotel.

Influenced by the likes of Ed Sheeran and Diesel, he has appeared on both The Voice and the X Factor.

Come check out his great acoustic show.

Saturday, June 7th Madhouse: Torquay Hotel. 8.00 p.m This Geelong band plays a mix of rock, pop

and ska music, with a repertoire comprising lots of popular songs from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s. There’s bound to be some songs you’ll know.

Carus Thompson: Martians Café.

7.30 p.m Western Australia’s Carus Thompson has been touring, writing and performing for more than ten years and has released two live albums featuring his original acoustic folkrock songs. Come and see him at Martians for a great night of Australian roots music.

Drew Chen: Aireys Pub. 8.30 p.m Come along and check out the soulful sounds of Drew Chen at the Aireys Pub and his good mix of covers and quirky originals.

Craig Sayer Duo: Anglesea Hotel, Anglesea. 9.30 p.m Craig Sayer has been playing gigs for many years and is well known in both the Melbourne and Adelaide cover scenes. Check out his acoustic cover show at the Anglesea Hotel with Ricky McGillivray.

Sunday, June 8th Barbarella: Aireys Farmers’ Market, Aireys Inlet. 10.00 a.m Barb Peppard and Evan Jones will deliver a mix of their original acoustic folk/pop music as well as some covers you’re sure to recognise at the Farmers’ Market at the Aireys Inlet Community Centre.

The Beachniks (with special guests): Wolseley Wines, Paraparap. 3.00 p.m The Beachniks are Surf Coast musical veterans. Their style is a mixture of psychedelic pop, reggae, new surf and funk. They’ll be performing with special guests Kasper Raglus and the Rebecca Goring Band at Wolseley Wines.

Carus Thompson: Torquay Hotel.

8.00 p.m Carus Thompson brings his show to the Torquay Hotel.

So there are heaps of great gigs to check out on the Surf Coast in the next fortnight. Contact the venues for more information. See you all in two weeks’ time!

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The Pick of Justin Bernasconi Justin Bernasconi is a songman known for his duties in The Stillsons, a roots rock outfit he formed in 2006 and one that released their third album last year. Justin Bernasconi is also a songman who is becoming known for his solo work. His solo album, Winter Pick, was recorded with Jeff Lang over the winter of 2012. Showcasing his grasp of British (he was born in London and made the move to Australia in 2004) and American folk guitar styles, the album was recorded to ½ inch 8-track tape and features players including Jeff Lang, Ben Franz (The Waifs, The Stillsons), Hat Fitz, Pete Fidler, Cat Canteri (The Stillsons), and Alex Burkoy (Tinpan Orange). It draws on inspiration from the likes of Mississippi John Hurt, John Fahey, Leo Kottke and Bert Jansch. Bendigo Folk Club – June 13.

Potato Shed The Potato Shed, the little multi-arts facility on the Bellarine Peninsula capable of very big things, has a pretty full June calendar.

Aisha the Geisha takes in a performance on June 14.

The musical comedy follows the adventures of Aisha, a

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Kooweerup dairy farmer who becomes the world’s first foreign Geisha. When Aisha’s fiancé Craig goes on a footy trip to Japan and falls in love with a Japanese girl, Aisha leaves the farm to bring him back. As the nights grow colder and the days become shorter, the Potato Shed gets in the spirit with Winter Solstice One-Act Plays. Come and celebrate winter with fire, warm wine, music and two amazing one-act plays. For a full rundown of all events and further information on the ones listed, be sure to hit up geelongaustralia. com.au/potatoshed.

Careful with That Axe, Eugene There is no need to scream.

Here is a little more that is taking place: Drunk Mums hit The Loft, Warrnambool on June 13. The Karingal Appeal Launch Concert featuring the Eddi Reader Quartet and Tim McCallum takes place at GPAC’s Costa Hall on June 25. All funds raised will assist in the building of The Eastern Geelong Community Centre. Benny Walker plays The American Hotel, Echuca on June 1.

Paul Lines plays Star Bar, Echuca on June 8. Finally, don’t forget about the inaugural Castlemaine Jazz Festival which takes place

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June 7 & 8. Performers include the Jude Parsons Trio, the ade ishs Trio, The Wild Bunch New Orleans Party Band, Cheap Frills, Ruby Rogers, The Silver Bell Jazz Band, the Tim Nelson Band, Vida Petrini, Malt & Rye, Paul Van Ross Trio, Standing Tall and the Peter Bennett Trio.

National Celtic Festival The National Celtic Festival has been noticed as the largest Celtic festival in the southern hemisphere due to it’s diversity that attracts not just people and performers from around Victoria and Australia but all over the world as well.

There’s a unique culturalfeel that you will get from the Celtic festival through discovering the fascinating cultures of the ssevenunique Celtic lands and learning of heritage and the Celts who have helped in fformingthis country into what it is now. The festival goes from Friday night through to Monday morning so you’ll be in for a massive weekend full of amazing world-class music acts and dancing performances, Celtic style. There’s some great stalls to wander through offering treasures and crafts as well as fresh produce. Starts Friday 6th June and finishes Monday

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9th in Portarlington. head to nationalcelticfestival. com for more info.

Extravaganza!

The Extravaganza event is a chance to celebrate what our Geelong region has to offer, and we have a LOT to offer in eating, drinking and attractions. This winter Extravaganza - Eat, Drink, Discover will bring all the great winemakers, producers, brewers and chefs out of the woodworks and together into one venue. Visitors taste buds will be taken from the countryside of the Bellarine to the Great Ocean Road, through the Otway rainforests and along the Golden Plains with producers from all over these areas including our own in the Geelong district.

The event will include an open demonstration called “Kitchen Corner” and also a Master Class which a panel of media, wine and beer experts will host in tasting and discussing the regions Chardonnayy, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and great local beer. The Extravaganza is fast becoming one of the most talked about events in Geelong so you’d be silly to miss it! Held inside Deakin University’s Waterfront Campus on July 13th and tickets are on sale through www.gpac. org.au or on the door.

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Arockalypse Written by Wylie Caird

Anyone who has strapped on a guitar and doorknocked for gigs knows it can be a tough slog. And if you score a gig, well, it can be a pretty thankless job. So for young artists, a gig such as Arockalypse is a golden ticket. Entering its third year, the Warrnambool multi-day music festival takes place across the Queen’s birthday weekend.

“We showcase some of the greatest talent from around the country, and at times the world, and night after night we are blown away by the quality of many of the acts that hit our stage,” Jarrod Shaw tells Forte. Jarrod, chief at The Loft, the host of the festival, speaks like a guy who has heard his share of struggling artist stories. “I thought, how cool would it be to get the best of the last 12 months, particularly focusing on the bands that we thought were rad but didn’t sell out the venue, put them all on in the one day, and pack the room so that these amazing artists get to showcase themselves to 300 new fans.”

The first event (2012) ran under the name The Loft’s Big Day In, but another local publican already had the name locked, and so Arockalypse seemed like the perfect fallback choice – a better choice on reflection, some may say. The inaugural one-day event sold out and such was the positive feedback the event expanded the following year.

As is the case with many regional cities, Warrnambool is home to some first-rate talent. Why, then, not put Warrnambool on the map? “Warrnambool has a fantastic pool of musical and artistic talent and we need to nurture and support and develop this. But really, this isn’t about putting on Australia’s charttopping artists. This was and will always be about making sure that the amazing bands that I get to see

every day get seen by as many people as possible.”

When it came to organising 2014’s event, one name was at the top of the list: Dallas Frasca. Jarrod calls her “the coolest chick in Australian music”.

Once she had a tick beside her name, it was a case of attempting to “cover off as many of the genres that my customers dig as possible”. The result is a massive, wide-ranging number of acts including Kashmere Club, Tank Dilemma, Buddha in a Chocolate Box, Sex On Toast, The Harlots, Aurora Jane, The Go Set, JackJackJack, Sun Gold Replica, The Pretty Littles, Blue Heat, The Hidden Venture, Alfa Tides, King Evil, Mick Ferguson, Jordan Lockett, Ebonie Hyland, Cobey Fletcher, Clint Williams, Brady James, Pete James, Bill O’Connell, Jake Gellert and Alex Francis.

The Sunday (June 8) of the event is the big one.

Originally a 12-hour slab of tunes kicking off at 1 pm., the main day is now a little more forgiving for those a little worse for wear. “In our second year we added the additional nights and on the Saturday night we delivered big time with three of the best bands this area has ever produced – Blackwood Jack, Red Eagle and Kashmere Club. [The night was] the second busiest night I have had since owning The Loft. Only problem was this led to 300 extreme hangovers the next day and our 11 a.m. start proved too challenging for most, and so the day started slowly. To prevent a repeat this year I have extended my Sunday licence to allow for a 1 p.m. start to a 1 a.m. finish.

“The line-up is undoubtedly our best yet. The emerging talent that we have managed to get together for the one festival is mind-blowing really. I challenge anyone to stand still during any of these sets.”

Launching her stunning new album VAGABOND “She has one of the most beautiful voices known to humanity.” JOOLS HOLLAND

FRI 20 JUNE THE MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE melbournerecitalcentre.com.au

SAT 21 JUNE ROO TWILIGHTS AT ANGLESEA GOLF CLUB w/ special guest SALLY DASTEY

Raising funds for the Karingal Foundation | angleseagolfclub.com.au

WED 25 JUNE COSTA HALL, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY WATERFRONT CAMPUS Launching the Karingal Appeal w/ special guest TIM MCCALLUM | gpac.org.au

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

VAGABOND out now on Reveal Records thru The Planet eddireader.co.uk | eudoxusarts.com When&Where: The Loft, Warrnambool – June 6-9

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national celtic festival 2 0 1 4 p ortalington , 6 - 9 june I nternational acts

Fèis Rois Australia’s National Celtic Festival extends a warm welcome again to our visitors from the Highlands of Scotland; Fèis Rois.

Fèis is the Scottish Gaelic word for “Festival” and Rois translates as “Ross.” Ross-Shire is the area of Scotland where the organisation is based. Fèis Rois is renowned for providing high quality education opportunities for young people to gain skills in traditional Scottish musical instruments, including fiddle, bagpipes, harp and accordion, as well as the Gaelic language.

The visit to Australia signifies an innovative cultural partnership that fosters cultural exchange and collaboration between the two countries. From the outset it was clear that there was indeed common ground to forge an exciting partnership.

Four very talented Fèis Rois students will be joined by Fiona Dalgetty Fèis Rois Chief Executive

Fiona is also an accomplished musician and sought after fiddle tutor. She currently plays fiddle with Inverness-based band, Highland Ceilidh. Musical Director John Somerville (hails from Abriachan on the north shore of Loch Ness, and began playing accordion at the tender age of ten. His unique driving and dynamic style has seen him heralded as one of the top instrumentalists in Scotland – working with artists and bands as diverse as David Byrne, Franz Ferdinand, Box Club, Croft No. Five and Treacherous Orchestra. He has received several national award nominations, including a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for “Best Band”. A tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he has played at some of the world’s most respected venues including the Albert Hall and Queen Elizabeth Halls in London, as well as performances in Japan, Lebanon, USA and China)

Burrule (Isle of Man) The unique sound of traditional Manx music: the Celtic world’s best kept secret – until now! Stand by for the arrival of Barrule, an exciting new trio hell bent on taking the Isle of Man’s music to a wider world. Named after the famous Manx summit, Barrule fuses three distinct musical forces – front man and accordion wizard Jamie Smith, gifted 20 year old fiddle player Tomás Callister and versatile accompanist Adam Rhodes on bouzouki. Together, this compact but versatile acoustic unit create a powerful and wholly distinctive sound to put the small island in the Irish Sea firmly on the map.

With bold but sensitive arrangements, Barrule’s fresh take on traditional and contemporary Manx music evokes an atmosphere that reflects the diverse natural beauty of the island and the lives of its inhabitants. Their eponymous debut album showcases a rich collection of material from rousing marches, jigs and reels to sorrowful slow airs and beautiful songs sung in both English and the Manx Gaelic language.

Beaton Sisters Band (Cape Breton) Una – The first time we have had a Cape Breton band in Oz. Bringing this band out further develops our connections with Celtic Colors Festival and Cape Breton – Dawn Beaton is the artistic director of Celtic Colors. I have been working with Dawn to try and get the band across for the past 3 years.

Scions of an ancient Celtic line, Dawn and Margie Beaton’s first foray into the musical life began with step dancing lessons at the age of four – learned at their Grandmother’s knee. By age five they were integrating Celtic fiddle into their repertoire.

Award winning performers, over the intervening years they have appeared at concerts, ceilidhs, and festivals, both internationally and at home in Cape Breton.

With the regular addition of step dance during a performance and a contemporary approach towards traditional Gaelic music, the Beaton sisters put their distinctive brand on the music they play, whether it be a heart wrenching lament or an exhilarating reel.

Traditional music has been a huge component of the girls’ lives from day one. Coming from a musical heritage of fiddlers, dancers, and singers, it was a natural progression to learn both stepdancing and the violin at an early age (4 and 6 to be exact). As the Beaton Sisters, it’s a little bit of “Blasad Ghaidhlig” (Taste of Gaelic) with their roots firmly

planted in Mabou, Cape Breton.

As the Beaton Sisters’ Band, it’s an expansion on that important culture into lively tunes and arrangements!

Within the last few years, The Beaton Sisters Duo and Band have traveled to China, Brazil, Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, Central Canada and the United States to perform, leading off 2011 with a performance and showcase spotlight at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland! Dawn and Margie were also pleased to receive a Music Nova Scotia nomination and an East Coast Music Award win for Roots/Traditional Group/ Duo of the year for their first recording, Taste of Gaelic!

The CD and their energetic CD release party have led to other opportunities, namely numerous ECMA showcases and one of the largest Celtic Festivals in the world! The Beaton Sisters Band attended Fesitval-Interceltique in Lorient, France, headlining numerous shows as part of the official events of the Festival.

The Beaton Sisters Band consists of sisters Dawn (fiddle, banjo, mandolin and dance) and Margie (fiddle, piano and dance).

Piano extraordinaire, Jason Roach from Cheticamp, Cape Breton is a lively rhythm based soloist and accompanist with a powerful beat to keep the tunes cooking!

Kenneth MacKenzie, from Mabou, Cape Breton is a piper and fiddler.

His roots are strongly Gaelic and his piping styling is up-tempo, made perfect for any stepdancer!

Together, these artists will have your toes tapping and your legs dancing!

national acts

Siobhan Owen (South Australia)

Claymore Although many Celtic bands may come and go, each sounding remarkably like the other, the point of difference with Claymore is within the term ‘rock’. They add a current flavour, and interestingly, an inherent Australianess, to their music, bringing ole time traditional themes into the future, and appealing to audiences young and old. From the penetrating beats of the bodhran in the battle songs of the Jacobite rebellion to the hypnotizing drone of the pipes in the evocative love ballads of Scotland and Ireland,

fans of the band find themselves conquered by the most fiery and delicate textures of Celtic music. While their style has been described as new age folk music, there is more passion, fire and enthusiasm that than genre allows Featuring William Hutton (vocals, guitar, bodhran), Grant Scroggie (bagpipes, guitar, vocals, bodhran), Michael Doyle (lead guitar, mandolin, vocals, fiddle), Lindsay Hodgson (bass, didgeridoo), Mick Mills (drums) and Craig Scroggie (drums, percussion) www.claymore.org

Welsh born, Adelaide based Siobhan mesmerises audiences everywhere with her ethereal voice and delicate harp playing. Still only 20, she has released 4 studio albums and performed nationally and internationally.

Siobhan made her UK, US and French debuts in 2013 and was chosen as the voice of Yseult for a new French Celtic/symphonic ballet and CD “Tristan & Yseult” where she performed at the world premiere show in Nantes, France in March 2014. A European tour is planned for 2015. www.siobhanowen.com

Tolka Bringing together traditional elements of Irish music and inspiring modern arrangements, Tolka is an exciting new quartet who have been entertaining audiences across Australia. Award-winning guitarist

Robert Hillman’s driving rhythms with Cameron Hibbs’ punchy banjo combined with fiddle player Hilary Glaisher’s raw melodies and Allan Evans’ lyrical flute come together to produce an eclectic traditional sound with a Melbournian twist

Barrule

way it is similar to a mandolin.

The majority of my playing is rhythmical, yet there are occasions in some songs where I play melody.”

Written by Tex Miller Moving to the Isle of Man at the tender age of eight, it wasn’t long If you’re headed to the before Adam found his feet playing National Celtic Festival in local band King Chiaullee. The opportunity to play in this group at Portarlington over allowed for Adam to gain valuable the Queen’s birthday experience through his high school weekend, you will be able years in playing overseas, and thus to experience the most far he has recorded three studio famous band to ever come albums with the group. That project out of the Isle of Man. is currently on hiatus whilst the Situated between Ireland members are involved in other and Scotland, the Isle of pursuits and Barrule are off playing Man has played a large shows all around the world.

The process behind putting inspirational part on the development of the Barrule together a Spiral award-winning debut album was quite ‘chilled trio. Made up of Adam out’, which in turn allowed for the on bouzouki, Jamie on songs and compositions to sound accordion and Tom on the best they could. “We set down violin, Barrule has in the two or three weeks to write the two years they have been tunes and then headed into the together become one of the studio in Wales where Jamie was most acclaimed Celtic bands living at the time. A selection of tunes were written and fine-tuned in the world. Their debut in that time, which was quite nice. album won a Spiral award, Usually when you go into the which is quite a big deal. studio, you are pushed through Ahead of their performance and have a timeframe to record to. in a couple of weeks, I I think getting some funding from caught up with Adam to the Isle of Man government to discuss their journey to put together the album definitely international stardom. helped out in a few aspects.

“This is my first time coming “The response from to Australia and only Jamie audiences in the months after has been to Oz before, for the the release has been great, and Rugby World Cup in Sydney we have been playing a lot in six or seven years ago. It’s a very Belgium at the moment.” quick trip as we have a gig in If you still haven’t heard Liverpool two days after the Barrule, their sound can in Celtic festival, but we are all very some modern aspects be likened much looking forward to coming to Mumford & Sons and The Down Under,” Adam said.

Avett Brothers in terms of With a family history of instrumentation. Playing more playing music, it was inevitable traditional tunes, Barrule are that Adam Rhodes would definitely an act to watch into eventually pick up the bouzouki. the future as they release future “My dad is a fiddle player and albums. They are sure to be back my mum played guitar and I in Australia for a more extensive was always intrigued by the run of shows but if you’re headed bouzouki. It has eight strings along to the Celtic festival, make in pairs of two and so in that sure you take the time to see them.

When&Where: National Celtic Festival, Portarlington Friday 6 June to Monday 9 June See nationalcelticfestival.com for more info

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ntre e C y t i n u omm C g n o l e e stern G a E e v i s u l fully inc ney Raising mo

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Hard-Ons local feature STORY Written by Natalie Rogers

“We’re fucking milking this one!” laughed legendary Hard-Ons guitarist Peter “Blackie” Black. “We’ve got heaps going on – it’s going to be shitloads of fun!”

Blackie called in to the Forte office for a one-to-one chat about the anniversary tour to end all tours when the Hard-Ons hit the road for the ‘30 Years of Not How it Used to Be’ tour. The tour is poised to kick off tonight in Adelaide, before they make their way to us in mid-June, and to celebrate this milestone the Hard-Ons welcome the temporary return of original member and fan favourite, Keish de Silva.

When we spoke the band was busy compiling the request only sets. “It’s a lot of work but it’ll shape up fine … though if I’m honest, at first the idea of an all request set was not musically exciting to me at all. The idea came about when Ray [Ahn, bass] pointed out to me that we’ve the best fans ever and doing an all request show would be something they’d really appreciate, but it didn’t click for me until we did a show in Brisbane for the re-issue of our first single.

That night I realised we hadn’t played the b-side in over twenty fucking years! It was SO much fun fucking picking it up and playing. ” “When I looked around at the guys and out at the crowd, I suddenly thought this tour is going to be awesome! All we’ve gotta do is play songs we haven’t played for years – it’s going to be like playing new shit!”

On the subject of new shit, Blackie’s voice lit up when he revealed he’d spent the day in the recording studio. “I’m actually in the studio right now! We’re mixing the last three songs to go on our new album.

It’s our first one in a while because we’ve had quite a few difficulties in the last couple of years – we lost a drummer, and there’s been illness within the family.

“We’ve had some tough times so getting together and preparing this new record (which we’ve been wanting to do for quite some time)

has been way fucking exciting! And we’re over the moon with how it’s turning out.”

With this news I had no choice but to probe for more information and Blackie was happy to indulge: “I will say it’s going to be classic HardOns. The three elements that have always made up the band – pop, punk and metal, they’re all very prominent on the record. Though with each we try to push ourselves, and after thirty years I hope we’ve pushed ourselves quite a bit. At the moment it’s a bit all over the shop, but we’ve kind of always been that way.”

“And the best new is I’m hoping we are going to have a bunch of the new tracks available as a free download for whoever comes to the gig, as a bit of a teaser! I figure it’s our thirtieth – let’s go crazy. So, as well as the new album we’re also going to do four split 7-inches with some of our friends from all over the world. A couple of guys from America, Japan and here – it’s all happening!”

Blackie’s excitement and passion is infectious and before I know it we’ve delved into the really important stuff. “I’m constantly thinking about music – it’s like an all-encompassing thing. But we’re really insular – we couldn’t give a fuck about what’s going on around us or what other people are doing. We’re really into what we do, it’s massively important and

something that gives our lives a lot of joy. For me it’s respecting music as an art and that’s it.

I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”

When Blackie and de Silva founded the band back in1981, they couldn’t have imagined after thirty years, countless tours, live albums and EPs, the Hard-Ons would still be one of the most in-demand Australian bands, with a cult following worldwide.

“Because it’s our thirtieth, we just wanna celebrate with you and say a big thank you for sticking with us for so long – so come out and celebrate with us!”

One last thing… Blackie wanted to invite all the fair readers of Forte to a weekend of good music and untold hijinks from the comfort of their armchair when the Hard-Ons guest program rage next month. “You’ve gotta watch – I take my clothes off! I thought what the hell? I’m on television; I’m going to get down to my undies!”

I’ll bring the popcorn – that’s must-see TV. When&Where: The Karova, Ballarat – June 12; The Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex, Geelong – June 13; The Corner, Melbourne – June 14; and The Bridge, Castlemaine – June 15

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Two Sugars restaurant feature Story and photos by Danielle Shaw

Hightons renowned cafe and pizza bar Two Sugars, synonymous with authentic Italian cuisine and consummately professional and experienced service, has expanded at a new location, 146 Pakington St. “We basically came to Pako because of the demand for us to open a second store, renovations took ten weeks,” say the owners of Two Sugars, who are very happy with the outcome and commend the ‘fantastic team of Geelong tradies’ that made it happen. Like its sister establishment, Two Sugars Pakington Street offers diners a distinguishably Italian experience in warm, open surroundings with throwbacks to the restaurants heritage in black and white images of Mediterranean village life, traditional Italian coffee perculators on each table and a floor to ceiling map of the homeland with products listed within the region they’re sourced.

INFO: 7/65-71 Barrabool Rd, Highton Ph: 03 5224 5711 146 Pakington St, Geelong West Ph: 03 5221 0377 twosugarscafe.com.au

Both eateries feature the same menu as well as a traditional Italian wood fired pizza oven built by Valoriani Verace - a renowned brand that promises consistency and quality. Australian and International wines have been been carefully selected in consideration with the menu and are complemented by a wide range of local and international beers. An extensive lunch menu is available from midday and offers an array of meals from a light salt and pepper calamari or soup of the day to a choice of authentic pasta’s including Two Sugars own Linguine al Frutti di Mare - a generous and rich marinara. Quality Italian ingredients such as parmigano reggiano and Soppressa salami are abundant throughout the versatile menu; one which offers a unique fortynine dollar option in the evenings, to chose any two pizzas that are then made on the same base and served as a half-metre sharing pizza. Modern siblings of authentic favourites are found in the pasta menu with a traditional beef and pork Bolognese sauce served with home-made ricotta gnocchi rather than spaghetti. A ‘bambini’ menu offers options for kids under 12 including a choice of one main, one dessert and one drink at $15, or a selection of favourites including Margherita and ham and pineapple pizzas and fish ’n chips. Two Sugars breakfast menu caters for the kids also, with a choice of eggs and bacon cooked to their liking and served with toast or pancakes with syrup and ice cream, both for $10.90. Childrens choices mimic favourites on the standard breakfast menu; one that’s proven to be an immense success for Two Sugars who are at the forefront of Geelongs breakfast and brunch culture. A personal favourite of mine is the Smoked Salmon Rosti, served with Kossies free range poached eggs and avocado on a toasted organic white sourdough with hollandaise source at $18.90. Breakfast is served from 7.30am until 2pm, with lunch from midday.

Two Sugars seasonal cuisine is prepared by a team of experienced chefs, head chefs Kirsten (Pako) and Ben (Highton) are some of the best in their trade. The team also includes Italian celebrity chef and runner up of Italy’s Hell’s Kitchen, Carmelo and head pizza chef Andrea, who are from Italy. Patrons are attended to by wait staff who follow the philosophy of a successful Italian eatery, providing a welcoming environment and ensuring enjoyable and memorable meals for all patrons. Two Sugars directors, management, and combined team of kitchen and frontof-house staff work to ensure the aromas, textures, and flavours of Italy are brought to Highton village and now Pakington Street by drawing on a wealth of experience cultured locally and internationally.

Two Sugars Highton and Pakington Street are open from 7am until 5pm Monday then 7am until late Tuesday through to Sunday. Both restaurants are fully licenced until midnight and offer a take away menu. Functions are available on request with an online submission form that can be found at www.twosugarscafe.com/functions. forte 31

Stonefield

Queenscliff Music Festival 2014 Emerging Artist Grant Fundraiser Queenscliff Music Festival 2014 Emerging Artist Grant Applications are now open until Monday June 30th, and to propel the program into the future, the Emerging Artist Grant Fundraiser will kindle financial support for the next crop of Grant recipients, with a concert featuring a sneak peak performance from the first two names to appear on the 2014 festival lineup, together with two of last year's talented Grant recipients on Saturday June 14th.

The Emerging Artist Grant Fundraiser will feature hugely successful all-female, all-family rockers Stonefield, 11-piece Bollywood-inspired partystarters The Bombay Royale, along with the 2013 Emerging Artist Grant recipients: The Sweethearts, the all girl 25 piece nu-soul group, hailed by PBS's Vince Peach "the future of soul music, and Yirrmal & the Yolngu Boys who were one of the most groundbreaking acts of the 2013 festival. The proceeds from this night will directly fund the next Grant Round.

Stonefield and The Bombay Royale are the first names dropped for the yet-to-be-announced 2014 festival lineup.

The Emerging Artist Grant Fundraiser is just one example of the relationship between this festival and the community that hosts it. This connection is emphasised by the option for punters to make 'Friend of the Festival' donations to raise money for the grant, and in doing so enjoy benefits such as invitations to both the festival's Annual General Meeting and QMF 2014 after party.

The Grant aims to kickstart the careers of local musicians in the regions

of Geelong, Barwon South West and the Bellarine Peninsula. It is open to budding artists and is based on artistic merit and potential for sustainability beyond the funding period - there is no age limit.

Importantly, it provides a platform for artists in the region to access recording time, new equipment or the right mentor for management or marketing.

Artists can visit the Emerging Artist Grant page on the QMF website to apply. Or for further enquiries, contact the QMF Office via admin@qmf.net.au or 5258 4816.

When&Where: Saturday June 14, 6pm Point Lonsdale School Hall, Bowen Rd. Tix $25 via qmf.net.au

Music Man Megastore Music Slam 5 The building that houses Music Man Megastore in Bendigo has seen its share of venues come and go over the years. Here’s hoping this one stays around for a long time yet. Walk by during the day and in your rush there’s a chance you may not even notice it is a music store, except for the guitars you may hear quietly (or not so quietly) buzzing away. Stocking the right gear is one thing, but what really excites about the venue is their support of live music. Leading into the Queen’s birthday weekend is Music Slam 5, a massive multi-day music event showcasing a host of original homegrown talent and a few from a little further afield.

Music Slam 5 kicks off on Thursday, June 5 with The Drive Home, The Playbook, Slydekreig, The Revengers and The Filthy Hacks. Adelaide’s The Drive Home and Melbourne’s The Playbook hit the venue as part of their co-headlining tour. The Drive Home released their This Is All You Left Me With EP in March. Doors open 8 p.m. $5.

Friday night will see Sydonia headline the second night of festivities. Dropping by as part 32 forte

of their Reality Kicks tour in support of their album of the same name, Sydonia has found friends in Randy Blythe from Lamb of God and Jim Root from Slipknot. Zelorage, I am Duckeye and Ergasia support. Doors open 8 p.m. $12.

Saturday, June 7 is the big one with The Superguns, OPPRESSION, Spook the Banshee, Path of Destruction, Jay Sea, Drifter, Outlines, Chase the Ace and Past Present among those set to perform. Bendigo’s Chase the Ace is one of Bendigo’s hottest bands. They are currently working on a second release, the follow-up to 2012’s The Evolution. Doors open 3 p.m. $10.

Sunday finishes things off with the acoustic, chilledout sounds of the Tim McMillan Band, Meredith & the Smokey Trashcans, Tayler Hocking, the Bill Barber Duo and more. Doors open 3 p.m. $5.

From the Music Man team: “Music Slam is a concept we came up with to push live music over the cold season and to try and encourage more punters to get along and check out some of the best original bands getting around Australia.” Be sure to bookmark facebook.com/themusicmanbendigo.

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BENDIGO Written by Darlene Taylor

Liam Thorpe and Meredith & The Smokey Trashcans at The Brunswick Hotel, 10 May 2014 Liam Thorpe and Meredith & The Smokey Trashcans recently took a trip from Bendigo to perform in inner-city Melbourne. Thorpe, an acoustic artist whose musical history includes a stint with the long deceased alternative rock group Goya’s Child, offered a set of lyrically dense songs in a voice possessing empathy and warmth. As a raconteur with a guitar, Thorpe, who was amusingly called “Thore” on one of the venue’s promotional boards, related engaging tales of a drugaddled housemate, (mis)adventures in days gone by and the end of love. The use of whistling in the latter song (“Milk In The Oven”) complicated its intent with that form of communication used to reflect anxiety as much as it’s used to signify being content. Although Thorpe’s a relatively regular presence on the local live music scene, his music isn’t always showcased effectively in the places he plays due to issues such as the lack of intimacy and sound problems. One imagines Thorpe would be at his best in a small room furnished with tables and chairs, port and lovers of stories; however, at this gig his voice was clear in a way it’s not always given the chance to be. With her bass player stranded in parts elsewhere due to vehicle failure, Meredith Whittle aka Mez, hit the stage one man down but with an estimable new guitarist named Marcus Brebner and drummer Aaron John. John beefed things up with his drumming and hippied things up with his attire. Whittle and her band performed tracks off last year’s “Wild Child” including the title song and the riposte to bullies known as “Survive”. While being without a band member can upset the dynamic, Meredith & The Smokey Trashcans

what ' s on in the rat ?

Written by Daniel Lock

Hello Big Brother house observers (be honest, we all accidentally glimpse that crap from time to time when it’s on and then have to wash our eyes with vinegar), Daniel here with what’s happening in The Rat over the upcoming weeks.

Now, last time I signed off I was saying that Curtis Why was playing at Babushka Bar tonight, May 29. That’s been taken down from the website so it may have been cancelled.

Contact venue for details. However the other gig/event I mentioned, In2It Improvisation Night at The Main Bar, still looks to be active and will cost $10 entry tonight.

Friday, May 30, brings Sons of the Blues to The Babushka Bar. Entry – TBC. While over the road and around the corner The Karova Lounge

presents Crossfire Hurricane and The Shorts. Entry – $6.

The Main Bar on that night will be hosting a CD launch for Mick Dog’s Bone Yard. Entry – $10.

Saturday, May 31, sees The Karova Lounge opening the stage to New Bones. Entry – $6. While The Main Bar has Hot Club Swing playing at their venue. Entry – $15.

Thursday, June 5, The Babushka Bar has Tim Hudspith playing.

The Karova Lounge has The Bennies, Fait Accompli and The Shorts. Entry – $12.

Friday, June 6, The Babushka Bar has 4TRESS playing.

The Karova Lounge has Jessie Andrews on stage, and I think that’ll be one for the guys to watch out for. Entry – $12.

Saturday, June 7, and it looks like Curtis Why has taken tonight’s timeslot at The Babushka

more than hit their stride with the latter song and served up engaging versions of a Pink Floyd classic and the upcoming single “Coming for You”. The flamehaired Whittle had the presence of a pop star, John was energetic but calm and Brebner was both adept and humble; all together these components made the two and a bit hour trip to the city worthwhile.

Old World Sparrow, Lepers and Crooks and SHE REX at the Golden Vine Hotel, 18 May 2014 A discussion by members of the audience at the Golden Vine Hotel touched on the subject of the alleged lack of a particular type of front person in Bendigo. In effect, these singers are those whose only props are a microphone, a voice, a look and charisma.

The lead singers of visiting outfits Lepers and Crooks and SHE REX exemplified this idea of what a front person should be with the former kind of like an excitable and youthful Michael Hutchence and the latter a sex kitten with attitude. Even if SHE REX’s lyrics were at times hard to decipher and the music wasn’t always as tight as it could be, the all-female ensemble from Sydney was overall a blistering package of rock star chic/chicks. Lepers and Crooks were more musically assured and lead singer Sam Baker had a crazy confident charm that you don’t regularly witness around these parts although Tyler Kinder from the Black Aces comes to mind as an exception to this rule.

Meanwhile, local Old World Sparrow proved that singing someone else’s songs doesn’t have to be a recipe for tedium with his idiosyncratic and compelling versions of songs by Portishead, Oasis and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.

Bar instead of the Thursday previously written, which is a step up anyway. And The Karova Lounge has Rick Moranis Overdrive, SWHAT, Captives, and Claws & Organs playing.

Entry – $10.

Sunday, June 8, sees The Karova Lounge open to host Wagons and Jonny Fritz. Entry – $20.

Thursday, June 12 has Karova Lounge privileged enough to have the HardOns playing, with Clowns and Dead in support. Entry – $15.

It’s an exciting time for live music at the moment. A few years back I was scared for it. There just didn’t seem to be enough new sounds and musicians experimenting. Now it seems that the musicians that had been playing new music with the old vibe have been brave enough to experiment and find their own sound with the old roots still present.

What we’re seeing now is more

combinations of classic genres (as if genres weren’t blurred enough already!). I, for one, am loving it. I travel with the Electric SunKings, a band that is described as post/classic rock and draw heavy influence from The Beatles, Pink Floyd and many other psychedelic bands and then honour them with a new take on the style.

I’ve just gotten into King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (yes, I’m slow sometimes) whose epic jam song ‘Head On/Pill’ grabbed me straight away. Internationally, I’ve been playing FIDLAR like there’s no other international band I’m interested in. A mixture of punk/surf rock and psychobilly that you can either mosh or stomp your foot to – either way, it’s cool.

So get out there and get amongst it because there’s a lot of new music out there and all it’s doing is going supernova – and the best place to be is at the front line.

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ALBUM LAUNCH - JULY SUN 6TH: OLD HEPBURN HOTEL, HEPBURN SPRINGS, 4-7 pm SUN 20TH: BEAV'S BAR, GEELONG W/ ALISTER TURRELL - AUG SAT 30TH: THE MAIN BAR, BALLARAT

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The Audreys Written by Natalie Rogers

“Give a couple of guys guitars and it’s just going to be cocks out all the way!” joked The Audreys’ frontwoman Taasha Coates when asked about their newfound swagger on album number four, ’Til My Tears Roll Away’.

Taasha credits the inclusion of longtime friend/producer/engineer Shane O’Mara to the band line-up, and the joys of motherhood, with awakening a sleeping ambition in the triple ARIA Award-winning blues/roots duo.

“We love working with Shane, but this time he didn’t engineer so much, he played more as part of the band which was really cool.

“We got our rock on. My inner rock chick has been lurking inside me the whole time.

She just said ‘it’s time; time to come out and show the world!’ Motherhood was meant to mellow me but it seems it’s done the opposite.”

Taasha and Tristan are favourites around the Forte office – their natural manner and charm make them a pleasure to chat with, and this time is no exception.

Suddenly the line goes dead on our conference call and when we’re re-connected Taasha apologises by confessing, “My little one crawled under the table and pulled the phone line out! He’s mostly adorable – 90 per cent of the time,” she laughed lovingly.

In fact her deeper, sultrier vocals could be attributed to her little boy.

“My voice got quite deep when I was pregnant and I thought, ‘well this is fun’, and it never went away which was cool … When it came time to start work on this album, everything just fell into place.” ’Til My Tears Roll Away has been received extremely well by critics, with one calling it a “triumphant evolution” and another regarding the use of fuzzy guitars and big drums as “seriously sexy rock ’n’ roll.”

“This album was so much fun to make.” To get the authentic vintagerock sound, Taasha said they took a trip down memory lane – to the famed 1980s Rhinoceros Studios in Sydney. “All the tracking was done on a big old desk that used to be in the studio. So many classic Australian albums were made at Rhinoceros. We were able to get that big, full ‘band in a room’ sound. It was incredible!” Included in a long list of successful bands to use the studio back in the day are INXS, Midnight Oil, Richard Clapton, GANGgajang and Australian Crawl.

When&Where: Kyneton Town Hall, Kyneton – June 13; Ormond Hall, Melbourne – June 14; and The Vine, Bendigo – June 15

’Till My Tears Roll Away has become an instant classic, so I wondered if the pressure to win a fourth ARIA weighed heavily on their minds during recording. Taasha answered honestly with her usual wit: “Earlier on we did, definitely, and making the second record we felt that pressure, but I try not to sweat about that stuff. We don’t

make records to win ARIAS. That would just be silly.”

Catch The Audreys, with their full band in tow, at the Golden Vine Hotel in Bendigo. Head to their Facebook page for more details, and while you’re there message Taasha and Tristan any song requests from their first three albums – chances are they’ll play ’em!

Wagons Written by Xavier Fennell

A genuine air of excitement and enthusiasm rushes through the loudspeaker of my phone as I speak to charismatic frontman of Wagons, Henry Wagons. It is clear that the newest Wagons release, Acid Rain and Sugar Cane, has been a most enjoyable experience for Henry and the band.

The LP is a heavily built country rock journey built around the ideas and tales of the dark hallways of bars and some of their more illcomposed drinking experiences, along with some lovely tributes to the less celebrated beverages. Coproduced and contributed to by Australian rock icon Mick Harvey, with an obvious Bad Seeds vibe creeping through the new Wagons LP is bound to excite dedicated fans and induct some new ones.

Henry spoke to me excitedly about the upcoming tour and life surrounding the creation of Acid Rain and Sugar Cane, the follow-up to his solo release, Expecting Company (2012).

Working with such a man as Mick Harvey can only be a dream come true for any Australian artist, and Henry made it clear that he was no exception.

“From what I can gather Mick is fairly selective about whom he likes to work with, because he really does like to have some input. He likes to be there at the inception of the songs and contribute to the creative output of the work. He doesn’t want to be some techy sitting behind a production desk.

When I had some meetings with him to discuss working together he could see that we didn’t have our stuff in just the right way so that he could help out.

“Part of the incentive was the process. It was a very live and heavy recording process with a bunch of hairy guys in a room pushing a lot of air around. He basically joined the band; he played something on every track. All the experience that he’s had in his career gave him incredible insight for decisions that needed to be made. Being able to take from working with Nick Cave and PJ Harvey was a stunning experience.”

As a follow-up to the solo album Expecting Company, Acid Rain and Sugar Cane has been an opportunity for Wagons to scratch the ‘working with the band’ itch, working heavily on the collaborative side of the creative process as well as revamping their live show to coincide with the new release. “This is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had making a record.

The solo record definitely put me in the mood to collaborate more heavily with the band on this one. “‘Beer, Barrel, Bar’ is a song that the band came up with

When&Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 6; The Hi-Fi, Melbourne – June 7; and The Karova, Ballarat – June 8

and jammed out themselves, while I wrote the lyrics. We played it together once and then recorded it the second time we played it and that’s the version that’s on the album. The whole recording process was about capturing moments like that, in which everyone had input.”

With much of the thematic side of Wagons’ new release based upon the observation of drink, as well as being drunk, along with the dirtier of live music venues, it’s not unwise

to believe that some inspiration came from places such as Geelong’s late, great National Hotel, aka ‘The Nash’.

Arguably Geelong’s best and most structurally unsafe music venue, Henry is a known fan of the venue. “I’m not surprised that place was condemned. There was something unique about that room when it was swinging, and I think part of it was because the structure was actually moving.”

Hailmary Written by Tex Miller

Perth natives Hailmary have without a doubt become one of the hardest working rock and roll bands in the country over the last little while. Having played at the infamous Rock N Load Festival at the Espy in 2012, the band has since clocked up a massive 170,000 kilometres travelling all around the world playing music and recording their debut album Choice Path Consequence Solution (CPCS). They have also in the last week released their latest EP, Navigate the Sunrise. Over the next month and a half, the band is touring to all parts of the country in support of the release. I caught up with Kev Curran, guitarist and vocalist for the band.

“It’s always a relief and a little bit nerveracking when you release a new body of work,” Curran said about the release, “and we have been receiving nothing but positive feedback so far from critics and our fans which is great.

Over the past few years since we’ve branched out into interstate touring, there has been a lot of support for the tunes and what we are doing and we can’t thank everybody enough.”

Navigate the Sunrise, the third EP in the eight years the band has been together, sees Jeff Tomei, who has worked with the likes of Smashing 34 forte

Pumpkins and Skid Row, return to the producer role. A long-time collaborator of Hailmary, having Tomei behind the project has allowed for the songs to sound the best that they can. “Working with Jeff is always a pleasure and every time we work with him it is always fantastic. He has a great idea of the direction that the songs should go in and everything he does for the band is top quality.”

To coincide with the release of this EP the band has enlisted the support of their fans to help offset some of the costs involved with the release and tour budget. The aim was to raise around $5k, which is around 20 per cent of the overall cost of everything, the target of which was achieved in a matter of days. This support to Curran is very humbling and he is extremely thankful, as he relates. “With two weeks to go we reached the target and when you do those things you sort of think, ‘Will anyone care?’ It is a jump into the unknown sometimes, yet to have gained this much support early on and reach the target was just great.

We can’t thank our fans enough.”

One of the main tracks on the

When&Where: When & Where: Cherry Bar, Melbourne – June 18; Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – June 20; and Rock N Load Festival, Melbourne – June 21

debut album is ‘Yellow Light of Death’, which as you probably wouldn’t expect is about the PlayStation. “I was playing FIFA on my PlayStation and one day the disc stuffed up and wouldn’t work and there was just this yellow light flashing at me all the time. I Googled the problem, which is more commonly known as the ‘Yellow Light of Death’. I thought that was a classic song title and that [it had] to be used, and so it developed

from there. On that track there is an Armageddon-type theme within the lyrics that links to the story of the title, I believe.”

With European and American shows in the pipeline at the moment, be sure to head down to check these guys out at their Melbourne or regional Victoria shows whilst they are still around. One of Australia’s greatest hard rock acts at the moment – c’mon Forte! Do yourself a favour.

Forte Columns

the potential of the story arc – the bad guys are scary, the stakes are high and the art is really high-quality. It’s enough to make me want to pick up a trade or two! Definitely worth a look – Grimm fans should be excited.

Punk!

Written by Christopher Cruze

blues news too heavy to hug Written by John (Dr John) Lamp Proudly pesented by The Sleepy Hollow Blues Club

There’s a lot of discussion of classic blues players – Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe – and a cast of many more whose music has formed, influenced and been a model for many modern blues singers. Talk to these singers and you’ll hear these names and more mentioned again and again.

Robert Johnson died in 1938 at the age of 27, and yet thirty years later the Rolling Stones recorded ‘Love in Vain’ on Gimme Shelter.

The real question is how did he find that material so much later, well after Robert Johnson had died? Of course, he heard a recording, but back then people who made recordings were pretty thin on the ground. And yet we have a large number of recordings from the 1920s and ’30s of these American blues artists, and that’s what I want to talk about and praise.

A key to this fell into my hands about forty years ago when a friend lent me a copy of Negro Prison Songs from the Mississippi State Penitentiary. I listened to it out of sheer curiosity; I had no idea what I would be listening to. It’s an album of blues and work songs, recorded in the field, when that meant using recording equipment that completely filled the back half of a substantial car.

I was listening to a song called ‘Old Alabama’ being sung by a work gang splitting timber, with some wonderful natural harmonies, when I hear, and it’s documented in the album notes, a woodchip hitting the microphone. That’s when it really hit me – these are not performers, this is their life. When they sing “did you hear about that waterboy getting drownded”, that’s actually a hurry up to their waterboy to get moving and bring up some water. That’s a whole different perspective on this song, and, more generally, the blues.

The USA was amazingly foresighted in establishing the Library of Congress as a repository of all these records. A collection of unrehearsed songs, as they were sung, by the people who made them part of their life. A key person involved with this was Alan Lomax. Alan Lomax was Assistant in Charge of the Archive of Folk Song of the Library of Congress who followed his father into field recording the folk music of the American people as a cultural treasure trove. After 1942, when Congress cut off his funds, he collected music in Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy and Spain.

But it’s not just musicians who use this treasure trove. When O Brother, Where Art Thou? came out in 2000 starring George Clooney, I was amazed to find actual tracks from that prison songs’ album in the soundtrack. Truly an amazing legacy.

“These songs belong to the musical tradition which Africans brought to the New World, but they are also as American as the Mississippi River.

They were born out of the very rock and earth of this country, as black hands broke the soil, moved, reformed it, and rivers of stinging sweat poured upon the land under the blazing heat of Southern skies, and are mounted upon the passion that this struggle with nature brought forth. They tell us the story of the slave gang, the sharecropper system, the lawless work camp, the chain gang, the pen.” – Alan Lomax

Written by Paul S Taylor

Welcome to THTH, Forte’s premier source of all things heavy, hard, fast and metal.

In metal news recently, a fan of Five Finger Death Punch, Mark Douglas, who is also a father, had taken his nine-year-old daughter, Olivia, to the show. At the show Olivia was invited on stage to join in singing the chorus on FFDP’s ‘Burn MF’ (the chorus goes “burn motherf*cker, burn” apparently) while her father stood aside to film his daughter’s vocal debut. During the song FFDP’s vocalist can be seen performing the song while holding the microphone next to Olivia’s ear. Anywho, Olivia didn’t want to sing in front of a festival-sized crowd because she’s nine and probably a bit embarrassed so she stood on stage during the performance of the song. Yeah, sorry for wasting your time on those unnewsworthy words on the subject…

But, no, it’s totally newsworthy according to WINK television news in Florida who “conducted” an “investigation” into the matter by watching Olivia’s father’s video he put up on the internet television and passing it around to the likes of attorney Miguel Fernandez who counsels families and talks to kids who claimed the incident was “a form of child abuse” and other ridiculous stuff like “to hear lyrics like that, what does it promote ... violence, criminal mischief ... just chaos”. Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott weighed in with “this should never, ever be allowed in a county park”.

Serious shit from serious people with serious overreaction issues.

Whilst I doubt I’d ever take my son to a FFDP gig, only because they’re shit, if this father wanted to take his kid to a show and get her on stage then that’s fine. Hey, it doesn’t state anywhere that Olivia was forced on stage to sing.

For all we know it was her idea and her cool, relaxed father OK’d it because he wants her to experience life, not be wrapped in cotton wool, presumably.

In other news…

Mastodon’s new single, ‘High Road’, is available now from iTunes.

Psycroptic and Aborted will play The Hi-Fi on Saturday, June 14.

Story of the Year will be at 170 Russell on Sunday, June 29.

Chelsea Grin is set to release their third studio album entitled Ashes to Ashes on Friday, July 11.

Corrosion of Conformity and special guests Lo! were to play 170 Russell on Sunday, July 20 but that has recently been cancelled.

The Midyear Mayhem Tour featuring Buried in Verona, Antagonist A.D. and Stories will be held at the Phoenix Youth Centre, Melbourne for an all ages show on Friday, July 25, while a licensed show will be at the Evelyn Hotel on Saturday, July 26.

Anathema will be at The Corner Hotel on Saturday, August 23.

Veruca Salt will play The Corner on Friday, September 26 to a soldout audience, but another show has been added at The Corner Hotel on Tuesday, September 30.

Toxic Holocaust and Iron Reagan will be at The Reverence in Footscray on Sunday, November 16.

Primordial are slated to release their new album Where Greater Men Have Fallen on Friday, November 21.

Body Count will release their new

Hits & Pits round 3 is now but a memory – but what a memory!

Face To Face killed it, Unwritten Law nailed it, and Ten Foot Pole were rock solid. The Casualties, unfortunately, suffered from a poor mix and played pretty sloppily; but hey, it’s The Casualties, and it’s always a good time! Believe it or not, round FOUR is already in the works and will take place in November.

Get yourself on to the interwebs right now and stream Me First and the Gimme Gimmes’ cover of Christina Aguilera’s mega hit ‘Beautiful’, courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan. It’s taken from the band’s new album, Are We Not Men? We Are Diva!

Sum 41 frontman, and former Mr Avril Lavigne, Deryck Whibley, is currently in hospital being treated for alcoholism, and sadly, it’s looking pretty dicey.

So the finalised line-up for the Tasmanian leg of Up The Punx has been announced, and if it’s anything to go by, the Victorian show is going to be ridiculous! Get this: Admiral Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge, K-Mart Warriors, Hopes Abandoned, Public Liability, Liquor Snatch, Southpaw, Rust Proof, Substance Abuse, Lizard Punch, Foley, The Cruntburgers, Stay Down, Ironhawk, Fatty Esther, Drayfus’ Epiphany, Dead Maggies, Carcass of Humanity and In Your Honour. Crazy! Check back next issue for the long, long-awaited album Manslaughter later this year.

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

le monde entier Written by Madelin Baldwin lemondeentier.net

Although a westernised English speaking country, as with any foreign city there are certain things to London that are different and every time I come back I learn something new – hence, I thought I would pass on a few of my thoughts and discoveries on to you!

Tip 1: London, or England in general, is often mocked for its ‘warm beer’; however, it wasn’t until my latest trip that I really discovered this for myself – and the way to avoid it. The pubs here have two types of beers/ales/stouts etc. on their taps and they are easily distinguishable.

The cold beer will be in the often higher, longer and metal taps, where to pour the barman only has to flick down the handle once for a constant stream. They will also often be recognisable, foreign beers, and if you actually touch the metal beer tap it will be cold (duh).

The other beers are in a larger pump that is manually pumped

Victorian announcement!

Riot Fest is already looming for North American rock fans and it’s shaping up to be a doozy!

September 6-7 sees the three city event kick off in Toronto, Canada, with a line-up that includes punk rock luminaries NOFX, Rise Against, Weezer, Social Distortion, The Offspring, Samhain, Descendents, Dropkick Murphys, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Lucero, Bouncing Souls, Stiff Little Fingers, Buzzcocks, Anti-Flag, Pussy Riot, All, Superchunk and Mudhoney.

Impressive stuff, especially since other acts on the bill include The Cure, Wu-Tang Clan, Jane’s Addiction, Cheap Trick, Slayer and The Flaming Lips! A slightly different line-up then rocks Chicago, Illinois, on September 12-14 and Denver, Colorado on September 19-21. Yowsa!

Not so fun fact: Unwritten Law threw a tantrum at the Perth Hits & Pits show after their set was cut short by six songs due to noise pollution laws preventing the show going past midnight, so they retaliated by destroying part of the backline, including the drum kit and cymbals belonging to The Casualties. Uncool, to say the least.

More next time, kids.

In the meantime, stay cool.

And go to a punk rock show and buy some merch!

up and down into each glass, and these beers are often local brews that are not kept or pumped though a chilled system. They are not exactly warm, but you can definitely tell the difference between this one and one from the refrigerated pumps.

Tip 2: When ordering or buying a breakfast juice, don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll get a tropical/vegetable mixture like at home (or in Australia at least). In London, it’s citrus and pink grapefruit, and if you don’t realise that before your first thirsty gulp, you’re in for a bitter surprise!

Tip 3: If you, like me, take your coffee without milk then make sure to specify. It’s just a given in England that milk and often sugar is added to your drink, and you’ll probably feel rather rude not drinking the cuppa you’ve just been given! Which leads me to my next point: always accept a drink when invited into someone’s house. English people are very hospitable and won’t settle until you do! Visiting my in-laws recently I was offered a tea, coffee, juice, water, sandwich, sweets, wine and beer three times before we had to accept and the conversation could move on!

Tip 4: The tube is going to be the quickest and easiest way around London, but make sure you buy an Oyster card. You tap on and off in each tube station with it and can easily top up in stations, stores or online.

You’ll save yourself a lot of money and time if you have your Oyster card with a few pounds on it at all times.

Get yourself a small copy of the tube map, too, to pre-plan a journey.

Tip 5: If you’d rather walk around to acquaint yourself with London instead of the hop on-hop off buses, try getting the tube to a stop like St. Paul’s. From here you can easily walk to St. Paul’s cathedral, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, and if you want to see it all from the sky, or near enough, buy yourself a ticket on the London Eye: a Ferris wheel on the bank of the Thames River to view all of London.

General tips for travelling apply: be polite, be careful of your belongings, and relish in being a tourist – because after all, you are!

pulp Written by Cameron Urquhart & Alastair McGibbon Alastair: So, despite missing out on the main event on Free Comic Book Day, I lucked out and was able to get my hands on two of the freebies on offer – the Sherwood Texas/Boondock Saints double feature and Grimm Fairy Tales: Age of Darkness issue #0. The verdict?

Well, I’ve got mixed feelings.

American publishing house 12Gauge Comics has used this year’s FCBD to give readers a preview of one of their titles – Sherwood Texas – that’s due to launch in July. Sherwood Texas is a modern reimagining of the classic tale of Robin Hood, with horses swapped out for souped-up Harleys and bows replaced by highcalibre handguns. Add in biker gangs and Texas and you’ve got yourself a modern, spaghetti-western take on Robin Hood and his gang. Shane Berryhill’s take on the famous outlaw sees Navy man Rob Hood returning to his hometown of Sherwood, Texas, to bury his father, Richard “The Lion” Hood. He reconnects with his halfbrother, Will Scarlet, and his bikie gang, the Jesters, and has to deal with their antagonistic rivals, the Nobles.

Honestly, I didn’t really find Sherwood Texas appealing. Bikie gang warfare is all well and good, but combining it with the legendary Robin Hood mythology just doesn’t seem to work – the whole concept seems a little forced. Daniel Hillyard’s art does a great job of capturing the grit and brutality of biker life, but overall I wasn’t hugely impressed by this preview chapter. It’d be interesting to see how the series pans out as a whole, though; Sherwood Texas strikes me as a series with potential.

The back-up story to Sherwood Texas is The Lost Gig, a short story that acts as a deleted scene for the cult film The Boondock Saints. Written by the film’s writer/director/creator Troy Duffy and J.B. Love, The Lost Gig sees the MacManus brothers and their buddy Rocco take down some drug-dealing scumbags just prior to their hunt for Vincenzo Lapazzi, aka Ron Jeremy. It’s Rocco’s induction into the Saints, and his first taste of action as one of the religious vigilantes.

Chances are, if you liked Boondock Saints as a movie, you’ll appreciate the comic. As a stand-alone story, it’s fairly unremarkable, but like many other tiein comics before it, it’s clearly designed for the fans – especially considering the murky status of the film series.

The writing is solid, but the art lets it down in places; Toby Cypress starts out strong, but gets messy very quickly.

Despite hit-and-miss artwork, I found it to be an entertaining, violent read.

I’m not gonna lie – despite being nine years old, this FCBD is the first time I’ve heard of Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales. The Age of Darkness issue #0 is only a small glimpse of the series at large, but I like what I see. It’s a preview of a multi-title crossover epic, demonstrating the sheer power of the series’ new big bads – the Blood Knights, the most terrible servants of the evil Dark Queen.

Thought extinct for thousands of years, the Blood Knights were the most powerful beings in the Grimm universe, whose sole purpose was to hunt down and brutally murder the good-aligned Highborns. Age of Darkness sees the Blood Knights resurrected, and they’re set on taking down series protagonist Sela Mathers.

This one-shot really shows off

pop culture!

Written by Anthony Morris

When exactly did television stop being the low man on the entertainment totem pole? We’ve been talking for the last decade or more about how television is currently in a golden age, but part of the reason why television – the high-end drama side of things, at least – has been so golden lately is that people just aren’t going to bother watching anything that isn’t up to the gold standard.

Time was that people would just drop in front of their television sets and watch whatever happened to be on. Sometimes it was good; and even when it wasn’t all that good it was still less effort (and more entertaining) than the alternatives. But with the rise of the internet, and of devices to use the internet that don’t require you to be seated at a desk, we now have a form of entertainment that can undercut television for low-effort entertainment: checking social media feeds and scrolling through websites is easily more entertaining than watching some forgettable panel show or unfunny comedy.

We’re all used to the idea by now that television is now a (big) part of what gets discussed on social media, and the networks themselves have worked hard in recent years to promote their own (usually ignored) apps people can use to discuss their shows. The idea that the internet is replacing certain kinds of shows hasn’t had as much traction, largely because television keeps on being aired: it’s not like there’s suddenly hours of dead air here and there because the internet has forced programs off the air. But there is a certain kind of entertainment that television used to provide that the internet has taken over (in the same way that television took over drama and most kinds of comedy from radio), and in bad news for Australian networks it’s largely the kind of cheap tossed-off programming they love to churn out that’s been replaced.

Remember last year’s Slide Show, the game show built entirely around a set built on an angle? It briefly rated well then fizzled out once people realised it was basically designed to create a handful of “wacky” YouTube clips – so why not just watch YouTube instead?

Social media is probably why comedy – at least of the unscripted kind – is constantly failing too: why watch a panel show when you can go on Twitter and find more people making more jokes about the same topical issues? The television shows that are still drawing crowds these days are either manufactured live events – The Voice, MasterChef, if people still watch that – or quality dramas and scripted comedies where people feel that what they get out of watching it is worth the time they put in.

But the days when television networks could put a bunch of C-list celebrities on screen and just have them talk for an hour or two is over: even The Footy Show is spending all its spare time showing YouTube clips in the hope their audience won’t figure out that they’d be better off going direct to the source. forte 35

Refining the Palette

Peter Dinklage

X-Men: Days of Future Past feature arts STORY Written by Anthony Morris

Peter Dinklage is playing the bad guy in X-Men: Days of Future Past, and he wants you to know he had a good time being bad.

“He’s a fun character to dig into,” he says, referring to the habit his character – Bolivar Trask, creator of the mutant-killing robots the Sentinels – has of not so much lurking in the shadows as cosying up to power right out in the open. “Usually with these superhero villain roles, they work on the fringes like the superheroes do, they’re considered a bit mad and they want to lock them up.

But this guy is right there with all the politicians and seated there next to the President being a big influence.

“That’s interesting to me because that’s much more realistic, that happens much more consistently – we had a few of those running for president in America recently, thank God they didn’t get any closer. But it’s scary stuff, at least from my point of view.

Nothing gives away his villainy but what he’s proposing, because he’s proposing the mass genocide of our heroes.”

Dinklage is currently best known for his role as hard-drinking, hardloving nobleman Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones. Despite an acting career stretching back to 1995’s Living in Oblivion, with a break-out role in 2003’s The Station Agent and a stay in Melbourne to film 2010’s I Love You Too, X-Men: Days of Future Past marks his first superhero work.

“It’s one of many reasons for their popularity,” says Dinklage when asked about the X-Men’s flexibility as a metaphor for both social struggle and individual isolation.

“These comic books were written in a time when America, at least, was finding itself – there were minirevolutions taking place within its borders and then there were wars we shouldn’t have been fighting outside our own borders, so it was a reaction to that. And it was done in a way these comic book writers knew how to do – write a comic book about it. They’ve always been relevant in a strange way, and this one was at the forefront of that.

“The mutants represent how we all have, to some extent, felt like

an outsider to varying degrees – I can speak to that, being the size I am,” says Dinklage, who is 135cm tall. “Mine is just more physically apparent than some ‘mutations’.

But we’re talking about anything physical, mental or emotional, anything to do with race, gender or sexual orientation, whatever it is.

And especially in America, when these comic books were written, that was becoming more and more of an issue, and people – rightfully so

– were becoming more brave about speaking their mind when it came to who they were, who they are.”

In the past Dinklage has often lightened even his serious roles with comedy. But while Trask is a serious guy, he doesn’t feel the lack of laughs in this role was a limitation. “I like to think I’m on to something when I’m uncomfortable in a role and something is challenging me. If you keep falling back as an actor on to your skill set, maybe you’re treading

water a little bit and you’ve got to question that, or at least I do. And maybe it’s time to start swimming again and start looking for something you haven’t done before.

I’d kill myself if I ever started getting comfortable and repeating myself.”

It’s not surprising, then, that when it comes to storytelling he prefers an approach that keeps things fresh. “I love Korean movies, because they’re never really tied down to their genre. Like a

Rare Trades Australia Rare Trade is one that operates today with essentially the same tools as 100 years plus ago, whose skills were originally learned as an apprentice to a master craftsman, making functional, useful, beautiful things designed to live long and be repaired, not replaced.

Time And Place – Metropolis Gallery Dave Hughes - Pointless As seen on The Project and Before The Game.

As heard on Nova 100.

He’s said goodbye to breakfast radio and farewell to The Project – all that remains is his first love – live, standup comedy. Hughesy is absolutely loving being back on stage with his all new show Pointless and he can’t wait to throw open the doors at Costa Hall.

Woodend Winter Arts Festival For 10 years now the Woodend Winter Arts Festival brings together acclaimed Australian and international talent with the music, literary and arts community of the stunning Macedon Ranges over the June (Queen’s Birthday) long weekend. The result is a world-class showcase of vibrant, traditional and thought-provoking performances and events in the heart of one of Victoria’s best food and wine regions.

Alongside many musical events, the popular literary program includes 36 forte

For a night of comedy gold you can’t look past this laid back legend of Australian Comedy.

WHERE: Deakins Costa Hall,

Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong WHEN: Sat 7 June. 7.30pm

WHERE: Metropolis Gallery, 64

Ryrie Street, Geelong WHEN: 5-19 June

TIX: 5225 1200

INFO: metropolisgallery.com.au

We examine the future of journalism with Rachel Buchanan, Tim Dunlop and Sally Warhaft, and the role of romance fiction in our daily lives in a panel which includes four romance writers.

The visual arts program features acclaimed local artist Mary LarnachJones, John York and the Macedon

RELEASE: X-Men: Days of Future Past is in cinemas now

collective to help raretradesfolk find and support each other, to help the local community find and enjoy rare skills, and to promote rare trades as not sentimental or antiquated, but proven, tactile and tenacious, as are the beautiful, useful things we make. We call out to anyone who practices a rare trade to join in.

INFO: artsatlas.com.au/

raretradesaustralia

Four artists Ben Davis, Michael Gromm, Steve Singline and Phil Suter have responded to the concept of Time and Place in an exhibition of paintings at Metropolis Gallery that invigorate memories and feelings of real and imagined places past, present and future.

INFO: gpac.org.au

the erudite and outspoken David Marr from Sydney in discussion with Margaret Simons on high profile biographies, and the best selling Graeme Simion (The Rosie Project) on achieving fame and a Hollywood contract.

The Rare Trades community is being developed in Victoria in a new collective called Rare Trades

Australia. There are bookbinders, blademakers, letterpress printers, coopers, bootmakers, steam engineers, blacksmiths, milliners, stone wall builders and many more who use and demonstrate real Rare Trades today. It is the mission of the new

horror movie can be totally emotionally engaging and heartbreaking, but on the page it’s a horror movie. I feel this film does the same thing. Sure, it’s a summer blockbuster, with super heroes, people are flying around, and there are robots and there’s all this crazy stuff going on. But then it has these intimate moments of complete internal character conflict that are so dramatic and gutwrenching, that you rarely see in these types of films.

And I say, why not combine the elements? Because that’s how you’ll grab an audience. I don’t want to know what I’m watching. I want to explore it and be surprised.

“Game of Thrones, I feel like it does the same thing. I was shocked at the audience’s response to the death of Ned Stark. It speaks to what we’re used to from a narrative perspective: wait, you don’t kill the hero. We’ve never done that before, why is that? We sort of follow this recipe for these genre pieces. I was surprised by how surprised people were, I guess is my point. And I think that’s because we don’t challenge [genre conventions] enough.

We sort of serve the same recipe over and over again because it tastes good. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it gets a little boring after a while. Even if it goes down easy, sometimes things should be spicier.”

Ranges Art Group, Jill River’s Daylesford and Macedon Ranges Open Studios and the return of the Macedon Ranges Potters.

Castlemaine Artists’ Market Now in its 6th year, the Castlemaine Artists’ Market at Theatre Royal continues to go from strength to strength with stalls allocated months in advance and a waiting list of local designers and makers keen to display and sell their work at the quirky and unique market on the first Sunday of the month.

The Castlemaine Artist Market is based on a strong commitment to things that are individually handmade and objects of beauty or artistic intent made with skill and care.

Sustainable art and design practice, reusing and recycling are common ingredients.

And this year, as part of ensuring the program includes and engages young people, schools programs, the traditional Woodend Library Children’s event and for the first time, the 2014 Young Writers’ Award.

With over 45 stalls and growing, the market is a community event that provides an opportunity for people to talk directly with designers and makers about their work, what inspires them and the techniques and processes used.

WHERE: Various venues in the

WHERE: Theatre Royal. 30

WHEN: 6-9 June

WHEN: Sun 1 June. 10am-3pm

INFO: woodendwinterartsfestival.

INFO: facebook.com/

Macedon Ranges

org.au

Hargraves Street, Castlemaine

CastlemaineArtistsMarket/info

Growth Habits – Julia Gorman This abstract wall drawing realised in vinyl, takes its inspiration from the free-flowing form of garden succulents. Just as they do in a natural setting, Gorman’s vibrant stylised interpretation of plant stems and leaves has taken root

across the west walls of the Gallery’s permanent collection rooms.

This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria.

WHERE: Geelong Gallery. Little

Malop Street, Geelong WHEN: Until 5 July

INFO: geelonggallery.org.au

Dr Blake Mysteries Experience a slice of the 1950s Ballarat through the eyes of the highly acclaimed and much loved ABC drama series ‘The Doctor Blake Mysteries’. View costumes worn by the leading characters, accessories and historical images of 1950s Ballarat.

WHERE: Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka, Ballarat WHEN: Until 9 June INFO: made.org

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Inside Splinters

LADY GAGA’S 2ND MELBOURNE SHOW

Written by Adem Ali

EUROV ISION 2 014

Show #2 for Melbourne happens August 24, with tickets on sale May 27. See you there!

THE MADONNA MASTERS Rumours are afoot that Madge’s new album is being mastered “as we type”…

BIANCA DEL RIO Spoiler alert: Del Rio (rightfully) won Season 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race! Will we see you at her Australian tour in September?

or

KYLIE MINOGUE’S ‘I WAS GONNA CANCEL’ VIDEO What a load of old shit!

KYLIE MINOGUE’S ‘I WAS GONNA CANCEL’ LOGIES PERFORMANCE This whole era is just one giant, botched abortion, isn’t it?

FLOODS IN BOSNIA & SERBIA Our hearts go out to all of those affected. Such an enormous tragedy. Donate via the Red Cross if you can – the rebuilding of these countries will take years.

Eurovision 2014 winner Conchita Wurst

Ahh, the Eurovision. The only event in the world where Jessica Mauboy can get away with ‘representing Australia’ as an intermission act, singing away and getting lost amongst a sea of dancers dressed as kangaroos, koalas and beer cans (!!) – but that wasn’t even the highlight of this year’s competition.

Austria’s Conchita Wurst made headlines this month when she won 2014’s Eurovision Song Contest. For those out of the loop, established in 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest is an annual song competition held amongst member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. Perhaps its most famous winner came in 1974 when Swedish pop sensation ABBA took it home for their International mega-hit ‘Waterloo’, but other famed winners include Celine Dion (Switzerland, 1988), Bucks Fizz (United Kingdom, 1981) Katrina & The Waves (United Kingdom, 1997) and transgendered pop star Dana International (Israel, 1988).

In recent years – and regular,

long-time Splinters readers will know exactly what I’m talking about – the competition has not lived up to its normally brilliant reputation, offering up piss-poor entrants and a few dire winners.

There may have been enough entertainment value these past few years for those who watch the competition ironically, but Eurovision has always been a much-loved family tradition that my household and friends have taken very seriously for as long as I can remember. No room for irony here, please; we’re European, or, at the very least, appreciative of the perfect, EuroPop song.

2014’s competition was held in Denmark, and for the first time in years the majority of the songs and performances were 100 per cent legit enjoyable. So many great songs, brimful of talent and style, 2014 was a return to form for the competition – even more so due to its super-controversial winner.

Conchita Wurst, representing Austria, took the gong home for her mother country with a Bondlike romper of a ballad called ‘Rise like a Phoenix’. The controversy, if you missed it, lied with something

as simple as a bit of facial hair.

Conchita, a living, breathing, singing drag queen, ruffled feathers all over the world for the fact she was essentially a Bearded Lady.

Wurst (which – amazingly – translates into ‘Sausage’) was born Thomas Neuwirth and in 2006 took part in the Austrian talent search TV show Starmania, where he finished second place in the finals. A full year later, Wurst created a boyband by the name of Jetzt Anders! that split up only months after formation.

With all of that history in mind, Neuwirth introduced the drag persona of Conchita Wurst to Austria via the television reality competition Die Grobe Chance. By 2012, she had qualified in second place in Austria’s pre-selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2013, national broadcaster ORF declared Wurst would, finally, be representing her home of Austria in 2014’s Eurovision where she would then go on to snatch every entrant’s weave at winning the grand prize.

This marks the first Austrian Eurovision win since 1966.

The win hasn’t been an easy road

for Wurst or her fans, with many people in Belarus attempting to get Wurst’s performance edited out of their eventual Eurovision broadcast. The petition hilariously claimed Wurst and her song would turn Eurovision into “a hotbed of sodomy” – which is hysterical seeing as it’s kinda already been that for a number of decades.

On top of that, anti-Wurst pages flooded Facebook and members of the Russian community even took to online social media to post pictures and videos of them shaving their facial hair “in protest”.

Conchita’s response to all of this has been iconic, declaring she and the LGBT community were “Unstoppable. I said it!

Unstoppable!” The fierce drag queen has since received public love and adoration from superstars such as Elton John, Jean Paul Gaultier, RuPaul and our very own Jessica Mauboy, proving that although there may be a pond of negativity toward Wurst, there is a sea of supporters rooting for her next move.

Some claim Wurst’s win was more a political or controversial move, rather than a win for a great song. Pish posh, I say. The song is fantastic and her performance of it was electrifying. Here at Splinters the Picks-To-Win before the final aired were between Conchita, Sweden’s Sanna Nielsen and the subdued Netherlands entry, all of which qualified in the Top 5 by competition’s end. Each was a worthy winner, but nobody sold their song quite as dramatically as Conchita Wurst.

Come 2015, we are off to Austria’s beautiful capital of Vienna for the song contest, where Wurst will perform and ‘hand the reins’ of the competition on to whoever is lucky enough to snatch the title. But what Splinters is most interested in is to see what Wurst does with her newfound global fame over the next 12 months.

And – perhaps most importantly – when she will be releasing poppers o’clock ready dance remixes of her stunning, winner of a ballad.

subscribe to the forte newsletter! fortemag.com.au

38 forte

“What am I reading?

The lyrics I wrote with Madonna for her new album.”

UK Pop star @ NataliaKills teases Madge fans online with this titbit on her upcoming fourteenth long-player.

Taylor Henderson Written by Daniel Waight

Geelong-born X Factor sensation Taylor Henderson is coming home for a gig at GPAC on June 1. It will be the first time the up-and-coming star has been home for several months and he’s certainly looking forward to it. “Geelong’s just great. It’s just such a good town. It’s so laid-back,” he says.

“I can’t wait to see everyone. I cannot wait to be home. I feel like I should be with them because it’s my hometown.”

Music has always been a big part of Taylor’s life.

He grew up playing local gigs with his musician dad, Cameron. Despite the years of performing though, he never thought he’d get to this stage.

“I’d always find myself at the end of the day playing guitar, and it would always distract me from what I was supposed to be doing. People would always say ‘put the guitar down and just do something with your life’. But whatever it was that I did, I always found myself singing and playing guitar. It was always there, I just never knew how far I could take it.”

He auditioned with his dad for Australia’s Got Talent in 2010, before they eventually competed as solo artists. He finished third while his dad finished second. Taylor then went on the X Factor last year and finished runner-up. He says his experience on the program radically changed his approach to the music scene.

“There’s no other experience like it. If you want to know the grit and how it is to work on that show you’ve got to be amongst it. It’s an amazing experience. It teaches you how to work a crowd, perform and engage. I had to perform through a lens, into a TV into the living room of someone who’s sitting in an armchair. You have to impress them because at the end of the day you’ve got to get people to vote for you. So you’ve got to make that person somehow pick up the phone and go ‘I don’t mind this bloke, I might give him a crack’. So the show was fantastic in the way of stepping up your game and being a professional.”

And he’s been busy since. He’s been performing regularly, he’s recorded and released some singles and an album, and he’s made several video clips. His first original album, Burnt Letters, is due for release this year, and fans who pre-order it get their names printed in the album booklet.

For now though, Taylor’s focused on the GPAC show. “I haven’t been home in so long. I haven’t seen my friends and my

When&Where: The Playhouse Theatre @ GPAC, Geelong – June 1

family because I’ve just been so busy. So I can’t wait to get home. I’m really excited to bring the tour to my own town. I can’t wait to see everyone, as well as perform.

It’s a combination of both of the things I love.”

His musical career is just starting out and there’s so much still ahead, but Taylor feels he’s living the dream right now.

“It’s honestly been beyond what I thought. I was always one of those people who said ‘The music game is so hard’. And it is hard. I’ve just been very lucky with how it’s worked out. And I’m not saying it’s going to be a joy ride from here on. I know there’s tough times ahead. But it’s just been so good so far and I can’t wait for everyone to hear what I’ve got. So bring it on!”

Anthony Hamilton Written by Tex Miller

October 2014 marks the first time that renowned RnB singer Anthony Hamilton will be coming to Australia. On the line-up for the inaugural Soulfest, which includes a stellar line-up of Maxwell, D’Angelo, Common, Aloe Blacc, Mos Def and Angie Stone to name but just a few, Hamilton is excited as ever to grace our shores and take the stage. “Man! I’m reeling, let’s hit it! My first time in Australia, I want to do everything. It’s exciting that I’m playing on the festival bill and I hope the crowds come out and can bring the party … It’d be cool to pat a koala if I get the opportunity to.”

Over the course of Hamilton’s twenty-year esteemed career, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the music business including Buddy Guy, Santana and Al Green. Throughout each of seven studio albums, the process of writing and recording hasn’t changed all that much. With his 2011 release Back to Love, Hamilton wanted the vibe and sound of the songs to feel right, and looking back he feels he definitely achieved that with this record. “One of the main things going into this record is I wanted everybody to remember what love is and what it feels like to be in love. I think I was able to achieve that and you can hear that as the album progresses, I feel. I walk into the studio and I understand the music and the music understands me.

It’s like we’ve got a mutual agreement.”

Born into music, there was no second option for Hamilton. With a lineage of singing, “from the time I was a baby I knew I was going to be a famous singer.

I used to lay down on the speaker and listen to Michael Jackson’s Ben and ever since that point I knew that this is what I was destined to do. It’s my journey and I did all the right things to put myself in front of the people that could make it happen for me. I started singing in the church choir and met a guy called Mark Sparks who took me to New York. From there I signed my first record deal and started to work with the likes of Mary J. Blige and such.”

One of the most exciting aspects of being on the Soulfest bill is the opportunity to play alongside D’Angelo, who Hamilton sung backup vocals for upon the release of his seminal album, Voodoo, in 2000. “Being in his band for years, man, was really cool. Like, that’s my do. That album [Voodoo] was the best thing that happened to music and it was the best thing that happened to me in terms of learning. The opportunity to be around that quality of musician was just wow. There is some incredible

When&Where: Soulfest, Yarra Park (Melbourne) - October 19

playing on that album from Pino Palladino, Roy Hargrove, Charlie Hunter, and to be involved with that project was simply great – an experience that I’ll never forget.”

Nominated for several Grammy awards over the course of his career, it was in 2009 when working with Al Green that Hamilton took home the top gong. “Al Green is my favourite musical artist ever. My mum and my family also love him, so to work with him

was kind of like I was doing it for my family. He’s a great musician and person and I love everything he stands for. It was a nice experience – and going to the Grammys also shows people I can shave real good.”

A legend of the RnB scene, be sure to catch Hamilton on his Australian tour – and keep your eye out for his Christmas album to be released later in the year.

Harry Hookey Written by Tex Miller

It was a chance encounter with Cowboy Kate in a second hand market in Melbourne that acted as one of the main inspirations behind local folk country troubadour Harry Hookey’s debut album Misdiagnosed. The poster, which became a notorious piece for acclaimed South African fashion photographer Sam Haskins, was hung up in the studio among other raunchy pieces in Nash Chambers Foggy Mountain Studios throughout the duration of recording the album.

“Nash throughout his studio collects portraits of nudes and a few other weird artefacts and so I saw it at this market and thought it would be great and so the poster sat on the wall and overlooked the whole session and it became a running joke that we had to make the album live up to Cowboy Kate because the photograph is so renowned. She was the goddess of the whole recording and everything had to be up to her standard. It was four boys locked in a studio for four weeks with a topless girl in the room, it became a bit of an obsession.”

Originally from Gippsland in regional Victoria, music has always been a love and main passion in Hookey’s life. In 2012, Hookey graduated in Law from Melbourne Uni and it was throughout his

degree and the opportunity to open for Ash Grunwald, Tim Rogers, Doc Neeson and Busby Marou to name but just a few that Hookey decided that music was a more enjoyable career path than slaving away in courtrooms in the big smoke.

Hookey’s first encounter with music was driving back home from Melbourne in a hire car after a small car accident which the previous owner had left a copy of Sgt. Peppers in the CD, an omen of what was to come for Harry or just pure luck? “I remember putting that record on and my dad recognized it as the Beatles and so we listened to this album the whole way through and this was the first time that I think I fully understood music.

It inspired a real passion inside me and that record is just incredible with great songs and weird sounds. I really like how they bookend the album with a theme.”

Backpacking through America with his brother Sam, it was the opportunity to gig around a little that allowed Hookey to live out one of his childhood dreams. Unknown to the

When&Where: June 6 at the Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine), June 7 at Mollonghip Town Hall, June 8 at The Old Hepburn Hotel.

brothers at the time, the venue doubled as a strip parlour as well as a bowling alley. Only in New Orleans right? “ When we booked it, I was willing to play anywhere and it was just for the experience of playing in the states. We rocked up to the venue that had ‘live music’ and organised the gig and they were really cool about it. We were placed down by the bowling but could see the other frivolities going on down the other end of the

venue. Strangest gig I’ve played thus far, that’s for sure.”

Having gigged in a prison in WA in addition to all of the other supports, Hookey is one of the hardest and most seasoned performers in the local scene today. Playing in Castlemaine and Ballarat over the next few weeks you should go and check out this album in the full band setting for the true experience. forte 39

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Home House

FORTE

scenepix Photos by Marianne Valitutti

Home House

Home House

Home House

City Quarter

City Quarter

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FORTE

scene p ix Photos by Marianne Valitutti

Edge

Edge

Eureka Hotel

The Barwon Club

Eureka Hotel

The Barwon Club

Eureka Hotel

Grovedale Hotel Eureka Hotel

Grovedale Hotel

the max hotel's PHOTO OF THE WEEK !

Grovedale Hotel

*******

* contact the hotel to claim your prize!

The Max Hotel

The Max Hotel

The Max Hotel

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Elephant & Castle

FORTE

scene p ix Photos by Marianne Valitutti

Lambys

Lambys

Slate Pool Lounge

Slate Pool Lounge

Lambys

Beav's Bar

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Film Reviews

Films reviewed by Anthony Morris

X-Men: Days of Future Past Superheroes exist in a strange world where anything is possible but the rules that bind them only allow a very narrow range of things to actually be possible. Around the middle of X-Men: Days of Future Past a mutant named Quicksilver (Evan Peters) is introduced whose power is super-speed, the ability to move at rates that leave everyone else standing still. This power is then used to help achieve a goal that, in the context of the film, they simply could not fail to achieve: colead and if not totally bad guy then at least someone often up to no good Magneto (Michael Fassbender) is in an escapeproof prison and they want to bust him out. Story-wise, there is zero drama here. If he doesn’t escape he’s not going to be in the rest of the film, and as one of the stars of the film, he is going to be in the rest of the film. So while the big escape is a lot of fun to watch – it’s probably the most purely entertaining scene in the film – dramatically it means pretty much nothing. And then when it’s over the main mutants say thanks, and Quicksilver goes

the wra p Chef Jon Favreau (who also directs) is an L.A. chef who loses his job because of the internet.

But then he gets to drive around in a taco truck making toasted sandwiches, so it’s kind of a win-win situation.

Bad Neighbours Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are a couple with a young baby – and a frat house next door, which they’d be cool with (desperate as they are to seem “with it”) except they can’t party all night like the bros can. Tensions mount, and this already funny film just gets funnier.

Transcendence home, never to be seen (apart from in a montage) again even though with his powers our heroes could sort out all their problems in a half hour.

And they have a lot of problems: in the future, killer robots called Sentinels have killed or rounded up almost all mutants and their human supporters, but Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) have a plan: send the

mind of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back into his 1973 body to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing Sentinels creator Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). But will the young and currently de-powered Professor X (James McAvoy) help out? With a cast this strong it’s clear that a lot of story developments are more about showcasing stars than creating a gripping plot: Mystique’s story

basically ends halfway through the film but she keeps on coming back because Lawrence is probably the biggest star in the cast, while Dinklage is pivotal to the plot in the same way as a suitcase full of cash is in a crime drama, and he gets about as many opportunities to act. But the super-powered fights are always thrilling and Hugh Jackman’s supernatural charm once

again makes him the nominal lead even if he’s instantly sidelined in every single fight scene and once he passes on his time-travel message he’s basically just hanging around for the fun of it. It’s fun to watch while it’s happening, but without a solid plot it’s nothing more than just a bunch of cool things that happen.

It’s been a long time since Jonathan Glazer’s last film (2004’s Birth) and he didn’t make it easy on himself with this one. Scarlett Johansson plays a woman – she’s clearly some kind of alien (the opening scenes are maybe a birth sequence), but exactly what kind of alien she is isn’t clear – who drives around Scotland in a van picking up and then hitting on male hitchhikers. To film this, Glazer had Johansson (wearing a dark-haired wig and speaking in an English accent) drive around Scotland in a van picking up and then hitting on male hitchhikers. The interactions are real (it’s safe to assume the later scenes with each hitchhiker, in which they’re taken back to her place to meet a bizarre fate, are fiction), and the way each one unfolds as she tries to lure them into the van then tries to find out if they’d be missed is a drama in miniature. But the real strength in these early scenes comes from the moments in between, where Johansson lets the life and humanity fall from her face to reveal the inhuman creature underneath.

As the story progresses she becomes more interested in the creatures she’s harvesting – a pivotal scene sees her gaze shifting from men in the street (who are her targets) to women (who are, in one sense or another, her equivalent) – and her gradual attempts to become more human (and less appalled by her human body) come to dominate the film. It’s not the most original plot in science fiction – just about every alien that encounters humanity wants to become more human. But Glazer’s commitment to his story in purely visual terms – Johansson never has a real conversation about what’s going on with her with anyone, and many of the elements of her job are both beautiful to look at and utterly bizarre – gives this a haunting power rarely seen in cinema. The story is a fairly simplistic one but the many small details build into compelling cinema. This is a film that will stick to you like glue.

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The Trip to Italy Director Michael Winterbottom’s 2010 film The Trip was a bit of an oddity. Released both as a sixpart television series (in the UK) and an edited-down feature film (everywhere else), it followed comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (playing slightly altered versions of themselves) around the UK’s Lake District. They visited local restaurants, discussed the lives of poets Coleridge and Wordsworth and did a lot of celebrity impersonations. The Trip to Italy reunites the duo for a trip around Italy, now following in the footsteps of Byron and Shelley.

But life has moved on: Coogan’s Hollywood career has flamed out, and now older and wiser, he’s looking to reconnect with his teenage son.

Meanwhile Brydon, whose solid family life was in stark contrast to Coogan’s womanising in The Trip, is moving up in the world. Having become a household name in the UK and with Hollywood calling, he sees this overseas trip as a chance to cut loose – and not just with the comedy impressions. Large stretches of this film are just the two men at various restaurant tables putting on silly voices, but they’re extremely funny voices, and the pair is able to build on each other’s jokes to provide fully formed comedy sketches.

Winterbottom builds on the changes in his cast’s real-life status (Coogan really has moved his career focus back to the UK; Brydon really is a household name in the UK) to shift the power balance between the duo while maintaining Coogan’s frustration with Brydon’s puppylike enthusiasm. It’s an interesting twist, though it means the ending comes off as oddly low-key and inconclusive. Still, with its gravesite visits and meditations on fading allure to women, this is as much about mortality as it is about Michael Caine and Roger Moore impressions.

While other genres – crime, science-fiction – struggle and die in Australia, horror just keeps on keeping on. For which we should all be grateful: the pop culture future is firmly genre-based and if we don’t have at least some reputation for doing some of it right we’ll be left as the English-language equivalent of, say, Italy: a place that makes decent films that hardly anyone outside their borders bothers with. That’s not to say things aren’t dire here too: unable to secure mainstream funding, writer/director Jennifer Kent had to partially crowdfund this film, thus proving many of our funding bodies wouldn’t know a decent idea if it shouted “boo” at them. Essie Davis – yes, Miss Fisher from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries – is a single mum struggling with a child (Noah Wiseman) who’s more than a handful. Things only get worse after he asks her to read him a bedtime story from a mysterious pop-up book about a creature called the “Babadook” (that’s the knocking noise it makes when it comes into your house – ba-ba-DOOK!), which may or may not summon the creature into their lives. Increasingly frazzled and cut off from everyone around her, she struggles to cope with her son’s growing bad behaviour – but is the problem supernatural, or just a combination of being run down and stressed? Like a lot of horror movies the scary stuff tends to fade once the mystery becomes clear, but the middle stretches of this film where it’s basically about a single mum struggling to cope are excellent whichever way you’re expecting the third act to go. It’s a low-budget effort so the special effects are a little ropey at times, but they’re never so shoddy that they’ll take you out of the film – and the evil book itself is a first-class piece of work (there’s your spin-off merchandise right there).

The real stars are the cast: Wiseman is almost too convincing as a possibly trouble child, and if this doesn’t give Davis a career doing anything she feels like then there’s something wrong with the movie industry.

Spider-Man 2: The Rise of Electro Spider-Man is back, cracking wise and slinging webs, and while most of the supervillain stuff here is kind of average, the relationship stuff between Spidey (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) makes it all worthwhile.

The Grand Budapest Hotel Director Wes Anderson has lost none of his skill when it comes to gorgeous visuals in this story centred on a (fictional) luxury mountaintop hotel in Europe in 1932. But with Ralph Fiennes as the charming and quick-witted concierge and a story that’s best described as “a rollicking romp”, this is probably his most straightforwardly entertaining effort yet.

The Babadook Under the Skin

Johnny Depp is about to create a self-aware super computer so terrorists kill him but he uploads his brain thus creating the super-computer they were so afraid of. And, as it turns out, with good reason – which is probably the only good thing in this film.

The Other Woman

Godzilla The year is 1999, the place is Japan, and the worried face on the screen belongs to Bryan Cranston as a nuclear scientist too worried about the unnatural seismic readings he’s picking up to remember it’s his birthday. Turns out he’s right to be concerned: whatever’s causing the readings also causes a breach at the reactor where he and his scientist wife ( Juliette Binoche) work, resulting in disaster, destruction and evacuations all around. Jump ahead to today, where their son Ford (now played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is barely home from a tour of duty as a bomb disposal expert when his wife (Elizabeth Olsen) is taking a call from “the consulate”. Seems dear old dad has been arrested in Japan and it’s up to Ford to get him out. Dad is convinced that the evacuation zone is radiation-free and the military is covering up something bigger than just your typical nuclear accident. Ford eventually goes along with this seemingly crazy story, only to find that not only is his dad 100 per cent right, but the cover-up is bigger – literally – than anything he could have expected. Godzilla constantly shows the monsters

from human-level height but the focus remains firmly on those monsters: the occasional sharp line aside, the character development here is nil. If you thought going by the trailer that this Godzilla was going to be an examination of human fears in the face of a force we can barely understand let alone control, well… there’s a reason why director Gareth Edwards makes sure so many of the monster attacks are seen from the point of view of children; compared to these monsters, that’s all we are. Just about everything you want to see in a Godzilla movie is here and done in exactly the right fashion. Edwards – whose only previous film was the low-budget giant monster film Monsters – constantly stresses the sheer inhuman size of these creatures, forever having them looming out of mist or smoke, often having characters unable to realise they’re seeing a leg or limb because they can’t grasp the scale of what they’re facing. The humans might get short shrift here – some of the collapsing buildings have more personality – but as an instrument of mass destruction you can cheer for, Godzilla delivers.

What happens when a seemingly charming guy is cheating on not one, not two, but three women at once? The usual mix of female bonding and lame revenge pranks if this insipid and only marginally funny chore of a film is any guide.

Kate Upton, The Other Woman

Music Reviews, Charts and New Releases

Frenzal Rhomb The Barwon Club, Geelong Traveller and Fortune

Wolf Alice

Elliphant

I, a Man

Saturday 24 May, 2014

I am Only Snow

Creature Songs

Look Like You Love It

Gravity Wins Again

Independent

Dirty Hit

Record Company TEN

We Swimmers

Traveller and Fortune should be very proud of their latest seventrack release I am Only Snow.

Describing themselves as “not indie, but not not indie” clearly shows the individuality of these five musos.

Formed in 2011, the band’s line-up include instruments such as a banjo, ukulele and saxophone and have all been involved in the recordings perfectly. The single off the album is ‘Alaska’: kicking off the CD, it is brilliant. Released last year, it is heavily ukulelebased, with similar stylings to early Lana Del Rey. ‘Little Paper People’ is kind of like a clash of Angus Stone and Josh Pyke, with a banjo riff that rips through the song in a way that the guys from Mumford & Sons would be proud of. A great clap is a highlight of the whole CD as a bridge building into booming drums and crazy harmonies, making it my favourite track of the release.

With many upbeat folk tunes, I am Only Snow also has its fair share of nice relaxed tunes such as ‘Windy Mill’ with its country-esque twist. ‘Purple, Grey, Blue and Gold’ is a really nice addition, capping off a great release with great harmonies filling out the sound and capturing Traveller and Fortune’s unique sound perfectly. Well built-up folk tunes and an overall great feel is what you can rely on with these “not so” indie folk artists from Adelaide. Definitely worth a listen.

Oliver Friend

After hearing the much-celebrated release ‘Bros’ from Wolf Alice, I was beyond excited to get my hands on their new EP, Creature Songs.

‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ shocks listeners harder than a slap to the face. This bold, sassy number draws you in and makes you wonder why you’ve never given them any attention sooner. Keeping up with their intense visceral sound, Wolf Alice maintains momentum for the distorted guitar and thrashing drums of ‘Storms’. Ellie Rowsell’s vocals lull you into a state of mesmerised bliss, while the mammoth wall of sound blasts your eardrums.

Fully aware of their powerful snarling tracks, Wolf Alice quickly slows things down with their remaining two tracks. ‘Heavenly Creatures’ and ‘We’re not the Same’ harmonise you from your shocked state inflicted earlier. Soft vocals, slow builds and the gentle plucks of guitar strings showcase in these tracks. They may be a break from the powerful tracks opening the EP, but they’re also a clear example of the untapped potential the young band has.

With a pretty much perfect fourtrack EP, Wolf Alice is definitely the band to watch of 2014. And I’m not alone in my opinion as the band was plugged by the likes of iTunes, NME and Hype Machine.

With a tour already mapped out for Britain, let’s hope they brave the 20-plus hour flight and bring their sweet sounds to Australia.

Amanda Sherring

The debut EP release by Elliphant, aka Ellinor Olovsdotter, is without doubt the coolest sound coming out of Sweden right now. Working with Skrillex, Diplo, Dave Sitek and Dr. Luke, this EP is chock-full of unique dance pop tunes like never before. Unapologetic and full of sass, Ellinor delivers a vocal assault unlike any before. ‘Look Like You Love It’ is the perfect example of this and starts the EP off with a bang.

Squeezing every possible genre into her EP, Look Like You Love It touches on reggae, alternative hip hop, dance and new rave.

Some have described her sound as a cross between M.I.A. and Diplo, but there’s a uniqueness about it that shouldn’t be explained.

Though you may not know Elliphant by name, chances are you’ve danced along to her killer track ‘Revolusion’. This track showcases Elliphant’s undeniable edge and adds a new sound to the music industry of today. Highlights on the EP seem to be the reggae-influenced tunes ‘All or Nothing’ and ‘Only Getting Younger’.

These tracks are easily played on repeat and will hopefully make club playlists in Geelong and surrounds.

In seven short tracks, Elliphant has managed to add something completely unique to an industry that seems to be churning out so much of the same stuff. It’s her ability to produce something new, paired with her undeniable sass, which makes her one super cool lady worth the listen.

Amanda Sherring

For those of us who are impatient beyond means, a slow build can be the most frustrating thing in the world. But for the rest of us, it can be a moment of beautiful contemplation. I, a Man’s debut release, Gravity Wins Again, master these opportunities from start to finish.

‘In Time’ is arguably the band’s best known track – thanks to the kind folk at triple j – and rightly so. Lead singer Daniel Moss’ vocals come sweeping though at just the right moments. While distracted with Moss’ vocals, an underlying hook will leave you wanting more.

Showing that they’re not all about the slow stuff, I, a Man mix it up with the energetic tracks ‘Minivan’ and ‘Cold Feet Warmed’.

If by now you’ve reached your wits’ end of thought-provoking ambient tracks, then please hold out for ‘Less Travelled’. With its tactful melody and catchy beat it’s well worth the wait, and you’ll find yourself singing it for the rest of the day.

Though Gravity Wins Again mightn’t be for everyone, the band has stayed true to its unique and delicate style. With swirling guitars, hypnotic melodies and soothing vocals, I, a Man has created 11 tracks of contemplative bliss.

Gravity Wins Again is best played on a lazy Sunday morning when you’ve got nothing better to do than let time slip by.

Amanda Sherring

Frenzal Rhomb has been around for a lazy 22 years. In those years they have had some colourful experiences to say the least – from being banned from being played on JJJ, to ‘The Doctor’ becoming one of the station’s long servinghosts; band members having to get surgery to remove a pig tapeworm egg from their brain, to being one of the more successful at-home and abroad punk bands that Australia has ever had. Frenzal have also played Geelong a bunch of times in those 22 years, so I was expecting a healthy and excitable crowd for the show at the BC. I was surprised that there was a crowd barrier up tonight, which gave me a huge indication that tonight could get a little bit crazy.

The night started off with Clowns, which funny enough, were not the clowns that your common nightmare consists of … but maybe they were clowns, because I arrived about five minutes after they had finished so for all I know, maybe they were the same ones that frequent people’s nightmares.

Next up was Front End Loader, with a familiar face on drums, that of Peter Kostic (who also plays in Regurgitator and played in The Hard-Ons), another long-established NSW band, whom also attracted a fair share of people that were obviously there to see them. They powered through their hour set with ease.

Lindsay McDougall seemed to be the biggest fan of the band there, standing tucked away on the side of the stage playing along on his

guitar and singing to himself for half of the set. The audience received it well; it even prompted one dude to get topless and start doing push-ups for half a song.

Next up was the main attraction, Frenzal. As the 30-minute changeover ticked over, the venue started getting a little drunker, a little rowdier, a little smellier and a hell of a lot more cramped. Then the chanting started – and then Toto’s ‘Rosanna’ blasts over the PA, to which Frenzal Rhomb casually stroll onto stage to and proceed to start playing Rosanna with Jay Whalley’s take on the lyrics, which just included a lot of “something something’s”.

Then it all began, and the next hour and a bit becomes a chaotic blur filled with all the hits, about half of their 1997 Meet the Family album, a lot of onstage banter that Whalley suggested ‘The Doctor’ could use on the radio, spontaneous theme songs for band members (Tom Crease), complete nudity from audience members, amazing dance moves, lots of random audience hugs, lots of drink throwing from the audience (which included one shot from a long distance that hit Whalley in the chest) and lots of smiles and laughter from the band that prompted a twenty minute or so ‘by request’, in which they seemed to half play songs they struggled to remember then move on to the next request. The set finally finished up with ‘You Can’t Move into My House’.

All in all, it was one of the more fun gigs that has been in this town for a couple of years. Let’s hope it’s not a couple more years before Frenzal decides to tour again.

Lucas Barnes

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Forte Columns

grog watch Written by Tony Montana

Hey, remember that time when Tony Abbott was too scared to come to Geelong? Well, maybe “too scared” isn’t quite the way to put it – I think the actual phrase they used was “security reasons” – but come on: when you’re the prime minister of a country and you say you can’t visit a part of the nation you lead because of “security reasons”, that sounds an awful lot like you’re worried about your personal health.

To be fair, some people said his reasons were more like “I don’t want to give protesters any free publicity” angle – so clearly his stance on protesters has changed 180 degrees since his opposition leader days when he was hanging out with anti-government protesters every chance that came up.

But presumably that was him acting

on a matter of principle: it’s okay for people to protest against a government that lied to the people, it’s not okay to… well, considering there’s never been a government that hasn’t lied to the people, let’s just assume that the PM’s giving a blanket thumbs-up to anti-government protest and leave it there. But that means the PM clearly would have come to Geelong if the only factor involved was giving the protesters publicity because he clearly supports anti-government protest, and we’re back to him staying away because he was too scared.

So the real question that everyone in the media should have been asking for the last week or so is this: is Geelong so dangerous a place that even the Prime Minister would be putting his life in danger by coming here? And I have to say, on the basis of the research I’ve been doing, the answer is a firm yes.

Last week, a day or so after the PM cancelled his visit to Geelong after rightfully assuming that even with

his own personal security detail and the might of the entire Australian military available to protect him it was simply too risky for him to come to Geelong, I was on a train to Melbourne. Surrounding me – and I mean that literally, as no sooner had I sat down than they took every single seat next to and around me – was a bunch of schoolkids from Geelong.

Their number one topic of discussion: there’d been a fight earlier that day where some kid (who, by the sounds of things, was known for making a big man of himself ) had been beat down until he, and I quote, “cried like a bitch”.

Worse, everyone had been filming and taking photos both of the fight and of him crying, so the general consensus was that this guy’s rep as a hard man was over forever, no matter how many times he said he’d been sucker punched and it wasn’t a fair fight. And all the while I was hearing this, one thought ran through my mind: what if that had been the Prime Minister?

What if our nation’s leader had come to Geelong to have a look around, only to have some tough guy grab him in a headlock and start punching him in the face until he, and I quote, “cried like a bitch”? What would that have done to his ability to command respect, both inside parliament and with the general public? Could Australia ever follow a PM seen to be crying as some burly teen slapped him around? Obviously not: once the camera-phone footage – complete with a soundtrack of chanting teens and the PM’s sobs – was leaked, he’d have to resign. Worse, the whole fabric of the nation would be torn asunder: how could anyone run the country with the treat of being bashed every time they came to Geelong hanging over them?

And then it got worse: the teens sitting around me started talking about another fight, a few weekends earlier, where some guy they knew got “shanked”. Impressed as I was that prison lingo from the TV series Oz was

still in common use – Oz is an awesome show by the way, I highly recommend it – this opened the door to a far more horrific scenario. Going by what the schoolkids were saying, pretty much everyone in Geelong walks around with some kind of Stanley knife or boxcutter in their pocket (the trick seems to be that when the cops stop you in the street – the cops stop everyone in the street, even I know that – you just tell them you’re a handyman or carpenter, thus explaining your knife): if any major celebrity or powerbroker arrived in Geelong it’d be a miracle if they weren’t stabbed the moment they stepped out of the car by some random passer-by.

Obviously it’s only the fact that everyone in Geelong is carrying a knife at all times that prevents the streets running red with blood from a wave of mass shankings – the whole city is on a knife-edge, and I only wish that was a bit of hilarious wordplay. So what can we do to make Geelong a safe place for prime ministers to visit? How can

we turn Geelong from a city where clearly there is no law whatsoever to a place where our nation’s leader can hang out at the Market Square for a half hour waiting for the bus back to Corio without fearing for his safety? Buggered if I know. All I know is, according to the schoolkids on the train, it’s a good thing that guy didn’t get bashed in Werribee – supposedly there when they start bashing you, it gets more hits than “a YouTube clip of a hot stripper, mate”.

Tony “V/Line: it’s not just public transport, it’s an education” Montana

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