Forte #588

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ISSUE #588 ball ar at | bell arine | Bendigo | ca stlemaine | geelong | surf coa st | warrnambool |

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dan sultan “It was a very pinch yourself moment.”

pg.19

THE WILD FEATHERS pg.39

northeast party house pg.20

ticon

pg.20

DUNE RATS

pg.27

fraser a gorman

pg.36

ALSO FEATURING: Eddi Reader, Jeff Lang, Nathan Seeckts, Residual, The Band Who Knew Too Much 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!

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forte issue #588 t h u r s d ay 12 j u n e 2 014

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THE WILD FEATHERS pg.39

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DAN SULTAN pg.19

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TICON pg.20

DUNE RATS pg.27

northeast party house pg.20

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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

Reclink Community Cup

Splendour’s Second Chance Before you could say a dingo has got my baby, tickets for 2014’s Splendour in the Grass had sold out. What is a man or woman to do? Well, try again. On Thursday, June 12 at 9 a.m., Moshtix will release a stack more tickets, available in single day, three-day and camping passes.

The announcement was made following the Department of Planning and Environment giving the tick to raise the capacity by 2500.

Next to the AFL Grand Final, the Reclink Community Cup is arguably the greatest game of footy you’re likely to see, pitting the might of the Rockdogs against the dogged determination of the Triple R 102.7FM & PBS 106.7FM Megahertz team. Painters and Dockers, The Smith Street Band, Saskwatch, Fraser A. Gorman, and David Bridie will all perform. Elsternwick Park – June 22. It’s on!

The Crimson ProjeKCt Arrives The rescheduled dates for The Crimson ProjeKCt

Soulfest Gets an Upgrade Perhaps due to watching the fate of some festivals over the years, it would seem Soulfest approached their inaugural event a little cautiously. Well, it looks like they needn’t had worried as tickets are selling like hotcakes. So well, in fact, that the festival will now incorporate the surrounds of the Kings Domain as well as the main stage within the Myer Music Bowl on October 19. The line-up includes Maxwell, D’Angelo, Aloe Blacc, Common, Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def ), Anthony Hamilton, Angie Stone and Musiq Soulchild.

I Want to be Bob Dylan Chugg Entertainment is thrilled to announce that the and only Bob Dylan will return to Australia in ’14. It’s all but impossible to condense Dylan’s music career within a few sentences, so I am not even going to bother trying. You know the man. You know his music. You know his legacy. In what will mean a mad scramble for tickets, Dylan will sit down in some of the country’s most iconic theatres. The Palais – August 18 & 19.

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kick off later this month, with all previously purchased tickets remaining valid for the new dates. The outfit is the combined talents of King Crimson members Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto, classically trained musical handyman Markus Reuter and Power Trio members Julie Slick and Tobias Ralph. You’re looking at three hours of music.

The Hi-Fi – June 26.

Worrying Times for Seekae September 12 is when you can expect to get your hands on The Worry, the third album from Sydney/London

electronic trio Seekae. But you may just be able to hear a few songs from the album before then, with the band announcing a string of dates in just a bit. One of the songs you may have already heard is ‘Test and Recognise’, which premiered on triple j late last month. 170 Russell – August 22.

The Preatures Find Their Tone Can The Preatures top the year they had in 2013? A year which saw their single ‘Is This How You Feel?’ find love everywhere? Which saw the same single land an ARIA nomination and a ‘Song of the Year’ gong from Sydney’s FBi? Yeah, I reckon they can.

The band is thrilled to welcome new single ‘Two Tone Melody’ – and they’re itching to take it on the road.

The Corner – July 12.

Highasakite’s Debut Norwegian pop outfit Highasakite will play a couple of shows on what will be their debut tour of Australia a little later in the year.

Fronted by Ingrid Helene Håvik, who has drawn comparisons to Björk and Lykke Li, Highasakite was personally invited

by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon to tour with the

band after he caught a live performance. The band has released two albums, with Silent Treatment their latest.

Howler – September 20.

Merely a Passenger Mike Rosenberg, or he who is known as Passenger, has announced a healthy run of shows for early 2015. Good news, as we sure do seem to love him around these parts. Passenger also just dropped album number six, Whispers. He says: “…There are also some sombre moments about loneliness and death but, hey, it wouldn’t be a Passenger album without those. Mostly though, it’s a really positive album.”

The Palais – January 17.

Appetite for Democracy Guns N’ Roses are joining the 3D world with Appetite for Democracy 3D: Live from the Hard Rock Casino – Las Vegas. Released early next month, the DVD captures their November 21, 2012 performance at the Las Vegas venue as part of 25th anniversary celebrations of Appetite for Destruction.

It is the band’s first official concert movie since 1992’s Use Your Illusion, recorded at Japan’s Tokyo Dome.

Beautiful You Australia Beautiful You Australia is a massive weekend aimed at redefining beauty. The ideal girl’s day or weekend out, ‘Beautiful You’ explores the glamourous you, the happy you, the healthy you, the stylish you and the younger you. Ambassadors include Carmelo Pizzino (Dancing with the Stars), Jules Sebastian (MTV stylist) Mrs Australia 2014 Kate Johnson, Jennifer Hawkins and Sophie Falkiner.

Royal Exhibition Building – September 13 & 14.

Another Kill The Kills’ Alison Mosshart recently spoke with Nashville Scene, a local publication in Mosshart’s hometown, about the band’s fifth release. She said: “We’re trying to make a record that’s completely

D Anchored at Sea D at Sea is set to release a new EP next month. The stage name of songman Doyle Perez, D at Sea found his following through his acoustic covers of hardcore and metal tracks.

However, he has showed us he has a few tricks in his bag.

Titled Anchors & Diamonds, the EP is said to be a more polished, layered effort. It also features a full backing band.

D at Sea recently wrapped up a tour with Gabrielle Aplin.

different. Anything that sounds like it could have sat quite easily on any of the other records will probably get scrapped or reworked…”

Bandmate Jamie Hince has apparently turned to dubstep and reggae for inspiration.

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Trust Your Vice Principals HBO has confirmed that the network has ordered 18 episodes of Vice Principals, the new baby of Jody Hill and Danny McBride, the pair behind Eastbound & Down. As you may have guessed, the new show focuses on a US high school through the eyes of its vice principal.

In a chat with Splitsider, Jody said that the show is based on a movie script he and McBride wrote a long time ago.

We Need Another Hero Armed with their new album Volition, Canada’s Protest the Hero are set to return to our shores shortly. Volition, their fourth effort, was released last year and was entirely funded by their fans through an Indiegogo campaign. The album features Lamb of God’s Chris Adler on drums, following the departure of founding member Moe Carlson. The band started life as Happy Go Lucky in 2001. The Hi-Fi – September 6.

He Has a Tinie Tempah One of the UK’s biggest artists, Tinie Tempah is set to touch down in Australia this month. Born Patrick Chukwuemeka

Okogwu, Tinie made his name after he joined the Aftershock Hooligans in 2005. As a solo artist, Tinie has released two albums, his latest being last year’s Demonstration.

Tinie also features on Cheryl Cole’s comeback single, ‘Crazy Stupid Love’.

Trak Lounge – June 25.

Welcome to 360’s Utopia You have probably heard about 360’s Utopia tour.

And if you have heard of the tour, and even if you haven’t, you have probably heard about the massive fan packages he is offering (the packages have copped some backlash, chiefly from idiots). Anyway, the tour coincides with the release of Utopia, his third effort. It also marks his first headlining tour in two years. Festival Hall – September 12.

Echoes of Tin Sparrow Sydney trio Tin Sparrow have been spending their time writing and enjoying overseas adventures in recent times but are now back to give us new single, ‘Echoes in the Dark’. From the press release: “Echoes in the Dark taps into the notion of memory, and the small pieces of someone that get left behind that, whether we like it or not, remind us of

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

them.” It is lifted from the band’s forthcoming new EP, The Shoelace Ring.

Grace Darling – June 21.

Doctor Who Finds a Fox

Bow Down to Gorguts In 1989, Luc Lemay, Sylvain Marcoux, Éric Giguère and Stephane Provencher formed technical death metal band Gorguts. They released their debut album, Considered Dead, in 1991, an album that features James Murphy and Chris Barnes. They released their latest effort, Colored Sands, last year – their first since 2001.

Luc Lemay has remained the only constant member throughout their existence. NSC – November 14.

The Hunger Games Goes Mobile Entertainment company Lionsgate has teamed up with Kabam, a world leader in free-toplay games, to create a mobile game based on The Hunger Games. In the role-playing, card collection game, players will assume the identity of District members as they build their alliance and liberate their District. The game is being developed in Kabam’s China studio, the same studio which spawned a movie-based game of The Hobbit.

Bowditch & Adalita

The Lighter Side of DLC

Clare Bowditch has sent out the invite to Adalita to join her on her fourth annual Winter Secrets run, an invitation that was warmly accepted.

Bowditch on Winter Secrets: “Winter Secrets is not your typical ‘performer on stage and audience below’ style of affair, and loathe as I am to use the term ‘Interactive Co-Creative Transformative Absurd Joyful Experiences between Audience and Performer’, that’s Winter Secrets in a nutshell.” The Corner – July 18.

It seems the lads of Dead Letter Circus are in an acoustic sort of mood of late. The Brisbane-based five-piece recently took to triple j’s ‘Like a Version’ to serve up an acoustic cover of Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’ (well worth a listen, by the way). They also released an acoustic rendition of ‘Lodestar’ last year. Next up is a small number of acoustic shows a little later in the year. The Toff – September 6.

A Peek at Freaks and Geeks The short-lived series Freaks and Geeks lives on in the hearts of an ever-growing fan base. Featuring names including James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel, the show centred on a bunch of students at a high school during the early 1980s. Late last month indie Australian DVD label Via Vision announced it would be releasing the series on DVD. Extra material includes bonus footage and commentary.

Another songbird is set to join Doctor Who, with Foxes, aka Louisa Rose Allen, joining the cast when the show returns to TV later this year.

Rose Allen: “I was playing a gig and got chatting to the show’s production team who’d been watching my performance. I was telling them how much I loved Doctor Who and next thing they invited me to be on it.” Foxes and Zedd recently picked up a Grammy for their collaboration, ‘Clarity’.

Coldplay to the MAX If you’re a fan of Coldplay, you are going to want to get on to this one – now!

The band is set to join Foxtel’s Max Sessions crew for its 50th outing on June 18 in Sydney. A major prize of tickets, accommodation and return flights is on the table. Plus, you get to ask the band a question. Since its inception in 2003, Max Sessions has hosted everyone from Powderfinger to Slash. Competition closes June 15. Hit maxtv.com.au.

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THURSDAY 12TH JUNE

WOOL EXCHANGE: Chet Faker

BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia Night from 7pm

FRIDAY 13TH JUNE

BEAVS BAR: Dave Anderson

THE BABUSHKA CAFE AND LOUNGE (Ballarat): Tim Guy, Anika Moa

ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Ben Dew, Nick Deman, Forever Son

BLACK HATT: Tradies Night 5-7

BALLARAT LOUNGE ROOM: Gypsy Town, The Imprints, La Rumba

OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Jessey Jackson

THE BRIDGE HOTEL (Castlemaine) - Teeth & Tongue, Dave Graney (Album Launch)

THE BARWON CLUB: Nathan Seeckts, Jordan Riddle, Fear Like Us, Kissing Booth

PISTOL PETES: Collard Greens Duo

EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ

THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Happy Hour 5-7, Meat Raff le & Members Draw

WOOL EXCHANGE: Hard-Ons, Clowns, Wicked City

BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc) - Live and Local, $13 Pizza night

ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night EUREKA: Thirsty Thursday with Tigerlily, Katie Valentine, Katt Naill and local resident DJ’S

BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Happy Hour 5:30-7:30

GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free

BLACK HATT: River Snake

THE KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat)- HardOns, Clowns, Dead

THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTELMAINE): The Lost Heart Sirens

LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard PISTOL PETE: Georgia Rodgers THE LOFT (WARNAMBOOL): Salsa and Latin Street Dance Classes MARTIANS CAFE: $20 International Night including drink THE MAX HOTEL: $14 Parmi night, InnQUIZitive Trivia from 7.30pm till 10.30pm, amazing prizes, call to book your team’s spot ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: 6pm Jazz n’ Blues THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13

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CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with live entertainment and DJ EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ

Drunk Mums

Russell Beastian

THE LORD NELSON: Happy Hour 5pm-7pm

THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: James Carrigg

THE MAX: Adventure Playground

LAMBYS: Stellar

WHEREVER (Bendigo): Silversix

SATURDAY 14Th JUNE AIREY’S PUB (Aireys Inlet): Comedy Festival Roadshow THE BABUSHKA CAFE AND LOUNGE (Ballarat): Steve Saxxon, Amy Francis THE BARWON CLUB: Fatty Phew, Rawthentic (LP launch), Alter Ego, Amos & Iris BEAVS BAR: Steve Pianto

ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday

BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live Music, DJRJMC, and Happy Hour 5-7pm

THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Trojan

BLACK HATT: Over 28’s disco

HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with DJs, Steve Camp, Simon One, Keith Evans & DJC

THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTELMAINE): Tim Guy, Land of Confusion

LAMBYS: Good Faces for Radio LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARNAMBOOL): 1984 by George Orwell THE LOFT (Warrnambool):

CITY QUARTER: Live entertainment EDGE: Live Music and DJ GEELONG RSL: The Ultimate Bee Gees HOMEHOUSE: Travlos, Zac Depetro,

MARTIANS CAFETrappist Afterland THE MAX: Frequency THE NEWMARKET (Bendigo): Live Bands PISTOL PETES: Dan Dinnen POINT LONSDALE SCHOOL HALL (Queenscliff Music Festival Fundraiser): Stonefield, The Bombay Royale, Sweethearts, Yirrmal & The Yolngu Boys ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Luke Pote, Wayne Jury, Sam Fletcher OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Michelle Parsons WHISPERS: Coming up: DJ’s including Aston shuff le, 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

SUNDAY 15TH JUNE THE BABUSHKA CAFE AND LOUNGE (Ballarat): Open mic comedy night BENDED: Roast lunch & acoustic sessions 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 (CASTELMAINE): The Hard-Ons, Dead

CITY QUARTER: Perfect Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Jazz from 3-6pm and Parmi Night GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery lunch

ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARNAMBOOL): Bethany Arthouse Film ‘Barfi!’

GOLDEN VINE HOTEL (Bendigo): The Audreys

PISTOL PETES: Open Mic Night

LAMBYS: Adam 12

WEDNESDAY 18TH JUNE

OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Matt Katsis ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Forever Son, Jimmy Graham, Geoff Pink, Mick Tinta, Sam Fletcher THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17

MONDAY 16TH JUNE BARWON CLUB: $10 Parmis BENDED: Steak night ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Members Draw, over $3000 in prizes to be won!

LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARNAMBOOL): Cirque Mother Africa LORD NELSON HOTEL: Parmi & Pot for $15 on presentation of student I.D THE SPHINX HOTEL: Meals for $11

TUESDAY 17TH JUNE BENDED: Parmi night BLACK HATT: Bachata Dance Classes

THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Karaoke and Dave Anderson BENDED: Second chance & pub quiz BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Shit Trivia Mexican Night BLACK HATT: Cuban Salsa Dance Classes ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8pm. Have fun win prizes book a table GEELONG RSL: Pot and Parmi Night $13 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50 LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARNAMBOOL): Yes I Remember It Well PISTOL PETES: Soul-SKA Night

THURSDAY 19TH JUNE THE BARWON CLUB: Graveyard Train, Cherry Wood BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia Night from 7pm

BEAVS BAR: Andy Forster BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live and Local, $13 Pizza night THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTLEMAINE): Swamp Thing, The Astros EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night EUREKA: Thirsty Thursday with Tigerlily, Katie Valentine, Katt Naill and local resident DJ’S GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free THE KAROVA LOUNGE (BALLARAT): Dune Rats, Bel Air THE LOFT (WARNAMBOOL): Salsa and Latin Street Dance Classes LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Jazz n’ Blues THE MAX HOTEL: $14 Parmi night, InnQUIZitive Trivia from 7.30pm till 10.30pm, amazing prizes, call to book your team’s spot MARTIANS CAFE: $20 International Night including drink PISTOL PETE: Jessey Jackson

FRIDAY 20TH JUNE THE BABUSHKA CAFE AND LOUNGE (Ballarat): Dave Savage BALLARAT LOUNGE ROOM: Welcome Home, Abe Ape, The Living Arrows, Ajak Kwai & Band

THE BARWON CLUB: Barwon Blitzkrieg, Malakyte, Alkira, In Malices Wake, Requiem, Abraxxas, The Kraken, Chase the Ace THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Happy Hour 5-7, Meat Raff le & Members Draw BEAVS BAR: Rosco BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Happy Hour 5:30-7:30 BLACK HATT: Cor Ten THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTELMAINE): The Superguns, Drifter CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with live entertainment and DJ EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday EUREKA HOTEL: End of exams party ft Katie Valentine, Simon One, Shorty J, Max McKay, Steve Toppa, Dawson, Pinky.

GPAC- Splash!Dance Festival (Salsa night) THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Moon Patrol HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with DJs, Steve Camp, Simon One, Keith Evans & DJC KAROVA LOUNGE (BALLARAT): Northeast Party House LAMBYS: Test Pilot Molly LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARNAMBOOL): Glenn Shorrock, Biran Cadd THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Crossfire Hurricane, Bonnie Ranch,

NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE The Karova, Ballarat – June 20 and The Corner, Melbourne – June 21 & 22

THE AUDREYS Kyneton Town Hall, Kyneton – June 13; Ormond Hall, Melbourne – June 14; and The Vine, Bendigo – June 15

HARD-ONS The Karova, Ballarat – June 12; The Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex, Geelong – June 13; The Corner, Melbourne – June 14; and The Bridge, Castlemaine – June 15

Lemonbait THE LORD NELSON: Happy Hour 5pm-7pm THE MAX: Figjam ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Nick deman, Eric Stribley, Lukey Luke OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Callum and the Big Order PISTOL PETES: Dream Boogie

SATURDAY 21ST JUNE THE BARWON CLUB: Audemia, Oppresion, Cicadastone BEAVS BAR: Steve Pianto BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live Music, DJRJMC, and Happy Hour 5-7pm THE BRIDGE HOTEL (CASTELMAINE): The Hidden Venture, Sexy/Heavy CITY QUARTER: Live entertainment

EDGE: Live Music and DJ GPAC- Disney’s Beauty and the Beast HOME HOUSE: Upstairs- Johnny Canik, Keesh Downstairs- Reque THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Dear Ivy LAMBYS: Stellar THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Superguns MARTIANS CAFEAlana & Alicia THE MAX: Hey charger THE NEWMARKET (Bendigo): Live Bands ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Ben Dew, Forever Son, Sam Fletcher OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Gabe Atkinson

Aston shuff le, 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

SUNDAY 22ND JUNE THE BARWON CLUB: The Vibrators, Speed Demons, Batpiss, Town Hall, Foot Soldier BENDED: Roast lunch & acoustic sessions 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

PISTOL PETES: Alister Turrill

CITY QUARTER: Perfect Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm

WHISPERS: Coming up: DJ’s including

EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ

ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Jazz from 3-6pm and Parmi Night GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery lunch

Wombat Stew The Musical THE LOFT (Warrnambool): AROCKALYPSEChill out session

OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): The Band Who Knew Too Much

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

ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Jamie Pye, Tim Hulsman, Geoff Pink

TUESDAY 24TH JUNE

LAMBYS: Tryst

THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17

MONDAY 23RD JUNE BARWON CLUB: $10 Parmis BENDED: Steak night ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Members Draw, over $3000 in prizes to be won!

LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (WARNAMBOOL):

BALLARAT MECHANICS INSTITUTE: Dawn of Midi BENDED: Parmi night BLACK HATT: Bachata Dance Classes ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free

25TH JUNE THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Kareoke and Luke Biscan BENDED: Second chance & pub quiz BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Shit Trivia Mexican Night BLACK HATT: Cuban Salsa Dance Classes COSTA HALL (Deakin University): Eddi Reader, Boo Hewerdine, Alan Kelly, Ian Car, Tim McCallum ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8pm. Have fun win prizes book a table GEELONG RSL: Pot and Parmi Night $13

PISTOL PETES: Open Mic Night

GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50

WEDNESDAY

PISTOL PETES: Soul-SKA Night

DUNE RATS The Grace Darling, Melbourne – June 15; The Karova, Ballarat – June 19; and The Corner, Melbourne – June 20

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DAN SULTAN feature STORY Written by Tex Miller

Tables are set out through the main room at the Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex in Geelong. On stage is a simple red curtain as a backdrop and simple amplification setup for the solo tour of Dan Sultan. This is the first time that anybody has really heard of Dan Sultan in around four years, and there is a particular hype and buzz in the room as he takes to the stage to play two cracking sets of music, debuting tracks of his (then) upcoming third album Blackbird. Fast-forward four months and Sultan is a Record Store Day Ambassador and announced on the line-up for the triple j One Night Stand in Mildura. It’s been a hectic few months, and Sultan has just finished playing support to ‘The Boss’ when we caught up for a chat.

“Mate, I think that is absolutely correct. It was a very pinch yourself moment, but what you see is what you get. Obviously on stage he is renowned for his lengthy performances, and I think the longest I saw him play was for nearly four hours straight, and off stage he is like that as well. He’s happy to take time out and get a photo and have a chat to you, and his whole staff and crew are awesome as well. It was great.”

The absence of Sultan in the Australian music scene for the past few years has been in some part due to regaining control of his music and career. “I had to take a lot more control and responsibility of my life and career. I wasn’t in a good place, and changes really had to be made. Since then, things have been great and I have been feeling good about things. This tour is shaping up to be the biggest that I have done to date and I can’t wait to get back out on the road again.”

Uninspired and unable to write after the release and tour of 2009’s Get Out While You Can, these positive changes in Sultan’s life allowed for the concept of Blackbird to take shape. It took a few years to get back into the groove of things again, but after that was achieved Sultan wrote 35 songs within the space of six months, thirteen of which made the cut for

this latest release. “I was uninspired and it was a dark time. It was unfair on Scott [Wilson, Sultan’s former writing partner] and my old management. After not writing for three years, this was a huge positive.

There is definitely more studio albums to come, but we’ll just see how this one is received first.”

Heading off to record the new album in Nashville, Tennessee, it was only natural to ponder whether the tracks have a more country/bluesy feel to them.

With Josh Jones and Peter Marin from Sultan’s old band heading over with him, the end result is a rocking set of tracks that showcase a new side to Dan Sultan. “It was a bonus that we headed to Nashville to record. We really wanted to work with Jacquire King and he works in Nashville, so one thing led to another and it all snowballed from there.”

The producing credits of King include Tom Waits and Kings of Leon, so to have King behind the helm of this new project allowed for some of the pressure of recording a new sound away from home to be lifted off Sultan. “We were all working very hard on those sessions. It was twelve- and thirteen-hour days, six days a week, but I think that was really necessary to capture what we were trying to throw down.”

The title of the album is a reference to Blackbird Studios, where the sessions were recorded. One of the prized possessions of the studio is an elusive guitar of which Sultan’s signature is now etched on in between Buddy Guy and Neil Young. “There are moments in your career that you never forget and I think being given the opportunity to sign that guitar and record at Blackbird is one such case. There have been some great albums recorded there and it was a positive environment for these songs to develop in I think.”

From his 2006 debut record Homemade Biscuits, the success that has followed Sultan in the years following came as somewhat of a surprise. Now an ARIA award-winning artist, Sultan takes his career day by day and doesn’t over-think things too much. “It’s the old cliché, but you’ve just got to take it one day at a time; hopefully things work out, as it is very hard to succeed. I’ve been very lucky throughout my career and I just keep practising each day and honing my skills.

“Nashville allowed me to become a better guitar player than I was, as well as a better musician and singer.

You always hope for the awards and accolades after all the blood, sweat and tears you put into your music.

I’m very thankful for everything that has happened.”

With Josh and Peter along for the ride, along with Ash Naylor from Even fame as well as playing in Paul Kelly’s band, the upcoming shows on the tour are set to be nothing short of phenomenal.

Horns, keys and a bigger setup for some of the shows, it’s going to be both a retrospective look at Sultan’s songs, as well as what the future holds.

“It’s going to be great to be heading out on the road again. Don’t expect me to be doing a Bruce Springsteen though. I’m not going to be playing every single one of my songs. I’ll be out there for three hours otherwise. That said, you will definitely hear all your favourites from the other records.

Playing live is another dimension and allows me to go into another place and shift into another gear.”

A cracking live band and a new album from the man with the tunes and a whole lot of swagger, it will be interesting to see what Sultan comes up with next. In the meantime, head out and see him in full flight on this tour.

When&Where: The Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex, Geelong – July 18

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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Love of Diagrams Written by Natalie Rogers

It’s no secret I love me some indie-rock!

If you feel the same and haven’t heard about Love of Diagrams, please read on. The Melbourne based three-piece personify everything we love here at Forte Mag – the independent spirit, a DIY ethos, but above all they know how to put on a show. LoD are Antonia Sellbach (vox/bass), Luke Horton (vox/guitar) and Monika Fikerie (drums).

After more than a decade of non-stop gigging, LoD have paid their dues, earning them the reputation as one of Melbourne’s best live bands.

Not content to rest on their laurels, LoD decided to pack up and head to the States, a place that has become like a second home. There awaited the chance to work with legendary musician/producer turned friend, Steve Albini.

“We’re currently mastering our fourth album.

We recorded with Steve Albini in Chicago last year and the experience was incredible!” confessed LoD’s Antonia Sellbach. “He’s someone that I’ve always wanted to work with. I really love Pod, the album that he recorded for The Breeders. I love the really harsh, clanging sound that he gets. His records are always so raw and I love that. He’s a really great guy and he dug the music! To us, that meant a lot.”

LoD have spent a considerable time in the States,

resulting in some valuable networking opportunities. “We seem to have had a good reception over there so we keep going back, and we’ve met some great people.

“The reason we got to work with Steve is because he plays in Shellac with Bob Weston. We worked with Bob on Mosaic, our second album. We’ve met some incredible people over there, but I have to say it’s always really expensive and it’s so easy to rack up costs. It was pretty intense though because we stayed at the studio for a fortnight and worked every single day – really long hours. In the end we basically ran out of money and had to come home to save more!

That’s why the album has taken so long to come out, but it was definitely a labour of love and hopefully it will be out very soon.”

Until then you can catch Antonia and LoD, along with heaps of other stellar bands, at WONDERLUXE, Saturday, June 28, hosted by Geelong’s very own home of live music, The Barwon Club.

“We love it down there. You’ve got a really strong music community and it seems like a well-organised event. That’s

When&Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 28

the reason we’re happy to be playing,” Antonia said excitedly.

“Also, it’s a rare chance to see us, because we haven’t been playing around much as we’ve been so focused on finishing the record.

We used to play every weekend at one point; from now until then we’ll spend a lot of time in our rehearsal studio.

“Love of Diagrams fans have probably been wondering why the record hasn’t come out yet and are probably curious about what the new material sounds like – some of the tracks haven’t been played live yet. It’s a perfect opportunity to check us out! I think it’s a special show.”

Northeast Party House Written by Tex Miller

From the early days of Northeast Party House, an exceptional and high energy live show has always been a must. Now four years on, they are releasing their debut record, Any Given Weekend.

Guitarist for the outfit, Jack Shoe, feels that after a long time of refining the songs, being able to put the album out releases some pressure off the band and gives them time to consider their next move.

“These songs have been two years in the making and to finally have the disc out is great. It’s nerve-racking to hear people’s opinions on what you spent quite a chunk of time working on, but I think it will be extremely beneficial for the band.”

‘The Haunted’, which is the latest single off the album, started out as a bit of a joke between the band and the record label. However, given the popularity with their fans, it seemed only fitting for it to be the first song released in promotion of the album. “That song has always been my personal favourite of all our tracks. We never saw it as a single, but when we recorded it everything seemed to fall into place. The bassline riff came from a soundcheck for a gig that we played nearly two years ago. It kept evolving and was the first time that a song came together in that way for us.”

Admittedly, to any band the studio can be a stale and uninviting environment. Collectively all the members of Northeast Party House feel at home when they’re on stage ripping into a track in front of all their fans. To be touring all around the country in support of the new album feels like home. “Playing live is great because we get to do what we want to do and it’s highly energetic and just feels natural to us. The three dates that we have on the start of the tour – Adelaide, Ballarat and Melbourne – are simply the best way to kick off this tour. Every time we play in Ballarat people come out and say hi. It’s going to be another raucous time. I can just feel it,” Shoe said about the upcoming dates.

Having supported the likes of The Jungle Giants, Ball Park Music and Midnight Juggernauts, and played on bills such as Falls and St Kilda Festival, the tour stories the band now has are probably longer than your arm. However, what goes on tour stays on tour – and isn’t always suitable for print. “Touring is the best part of being a band. Anything can happen at

a show and you make great friends along the way. Whenever we play in Brisbane, we always crash at Millions’ house or The Jungle Giants or The Creases because when you’re on the road there are strong friendships and relationships built up because you spend so much time on the road together. We always get up to trouble on tour so it’ll be interesting to see what this one throws up.”

realise what impact we had on the scene. We only made music and didn’t think much more of it. There were a lot of influences from techno, hard trance and goa trance for us and we just mixed them all up. Together with another band (Son Kite), we experimented with ideas and sounds. It was for sure a fun time!

Ticon officially started in 1999.

Tell us about the rapid rise you guys undertook. Was it a crazy experience all of a sudden rocking parties all over the world to massive crowds?

It didn’t happen overnight, we played (and still play) small underground parties like all other bands. It was definitely a shock when we played some parties of 50,000 people, but we actually still like the smaller events more. Connecting with the people and response to the crowd in our live set is still the reason why we keep going.

What about now. Are you just as inspired by the new school trance and techno scene of today?

Definitely! The producers of today have a different approach that we had in the past. We grew up with a

full analogue studio and a computer without ability to record samples. We still keep the “analogue” feeling in our music.

We think today’s music can be a bit too clean and flawless, but after 20 years working as a musician and producers we are still learning and we thank the technology and the talented producers out there for inspiring us to learn more!

You have many popular tracks and have taken part in over 14 releases, a noticeable jam being ‘1987’, as well as several others. Are there one or two jams you guys really love playing?

We never know what will be the next hit on the dance floor. At the moment we are working on the next Ticon album and we jam a lot of these tracks in our live set. We learn a lot from the response from the people on the dance floor [as to] how to finish a track.

Are you working on anything at the moment?

Take us inside the studio for a moment. What is the standard procedure in putting together a track?

At the moment we are working on both a new Ticon album, as well as a new band we have together with Iboga Records label owner DJ Emok which is called Critical Choice. As we have been collecting synths and building our studio for so many years we have quite a collection of both analogue and digital synths and equipment.

How different is the technology you are using now compared to 1999? What are your current weapons of choice when making tracks?

As I mentioned before, we have a lot of analogue gear, old synths and so on. This is what makes the Ticon sound, but we definitely use the computer a lot. The possibilities today are mind-blowing if you compare to when we started.

When&Where: The Karova, Ballarat – June 20 and The Corner, Melbourne – June 21 & 22

If you’ve read this article and you’re still unsure about who Northeast Party House are, they play a mash-up of dance-electro / guitar indie-pop that makes you feel good and gets you nice and sweaty on the dance floor. This album showcases the hard work that the band has put into their electrifying stage show over the last few years and is definitely a contender for local album of the year. Get out and groove down to one of their shows!

Ticon Q&A

The project of Filip Mardberg and Fredrik Gilenholt, Ticon is one of the amazing outfits set to join Earthcore’s 21st celebrations later in the year. Walking the line between progressive house and trance, Ticon have been filling floors since 1999. We at Forte were thrilled to land a chat with the floor-shakers.

Hello, and thanks for taking time out to answer some questions from Down Under. First of all, can you please introduce yourselves to Forte readers?

We are Filip Mardberg and Fredrik Gilenholt (too old for school) and been working with Ticon since the late ’90s.

Ticon, like so many other artists that Earthcore bring out to Australia, were at the forefront of the trance movement when it all started. Can you take us back to ’95 and tell us a bit about how it all started for you guys?

I (Filip) was around fifteen years old when I met Fredrik in the ’90s. Fred had been to London and brought back mixtapes and we found a mutual interest in music. We had several projects going before Ticon, but after many years of practice and producing we found ourselves in Ticon.

I have heard other artists describe the feeling as the ‘techno-trance’ movement. Was that a special time for you guys when you look back?

Yes, definitely. To be honest, we didn’t even 20 forte

When&Where: Earthcore , Pyalong - Nov 27 to Dec 1

You are coming out to Australia for Earthcore, one of Australia’s most iconic dance festivals.

Are you excited to come Down Under?

Always! Give us a six-pack of VB’s, a couch and a crazy dance floor and we are home!

What do you have in store for the Australian crowd?

We have the new album that we are working on where we explore the more trippy trance part of Ticon – a bit more “back to the roots”. We will for sure do our best to make the people dance and smile on the dance floor :)

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PISTOL PETE

STACY VARNER

“I think recording in a home studio environment allowed for the album to sound a lot more free and relaxed because there isn’t the pressure of recording in a big professional studio.” pg.25

“...if I can do a little bit and that encourages someone to go ‘oh yeah, I might give something else a go in this little street’, then it’s all good.” pg.30

“The thing that really interests me,” she says, “ is how they got there and how much hard work they had to do ’cause all the stuff these days it’s like put something on YouTube and you’ ll be famous.” pg.30

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Chingy Bling Geez, there are some surprises popping up in Geelong this year – from the punk goodness of Adolescents to the pop delight of Rick Astley, they’re all flocking to town. Now St. Louis rapper Chingy can be added to the list. Born Howard Bailey, Jr., Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis. Ludacris and his manager signed Chingy to their ‘Disturbing tha Peace’ label, and in 2003 the rapper released his debut album, Jackpot. The album featured guest appearances from Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Murphy Lee. Single ‘Right Thurr’ was a smash hit, reaching #2 on the US Billboard 100. Songs including ‘Holidae In’, ‘One Call Away’ and ‘Balla Baby’ continue to be played on rotation in nightclubs. The Pier, Geelong – July 10.

Summerfest for Sweethearts Geelong-based school girl soul outfit, Sweethearts, are heading to the US. The massively talented band recently took to Pozible to raise funds for what will be their maiden tour of the US. Included in their tour itinerary is a date with Milwaukee’s Summerfest, the world’s largest music festival, attracting some 900,000 visitors. Member Wil McRae: “To be invited to perform at such a prestigious festival is a truly remarkable achievement. We just can’t believe that this is happening. To take a 25-piece all girl soul band to the home of soul and perform at a festival headlined by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars is just mind blowing … It’s incredible to think that this group of girls from Geelong, can work hard, follow a dream and share our love for music on the world stage.” All the best – make us proud!

dune rats “Sure, it was fun to make – although I had to do the embarrassing shit, walking around Paris dressed like a clown!” pg.27

Melody Pool & Marlon Williams Songwoman Melody Pool and songman Marlon Williams have announced a monster co-headlining tour which is due to kick off next month. With songs reminiscent of Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne, Melody released her debut album, The Hurting Scene, last year. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding effort, the young Kurri Kurri songbird found herself recording the album in Nashville.

The Australian gave the album a four-and-a-half star review. Marlon Williams received his first taste of stardom when he took out a singing competition at the age of 11. He is one-half of duo Davidson and Williams. Their latest is Sad But True Volume III. Beav’s Bar, Geelong – July 17; Major Tom’s, Kyneton – July 20; Ararat Hotel, Ararat – August 14; and The Bridge, Castlemaine – August 17.

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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 tendate 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. Now he welcomes 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.

A Day on the Green with 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. 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 followed the trend.

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.”

Daniel Champagne’s Final Fling Songman Daniel Champagne is slowly winding up his final Australian tour for the year, a tour which began back in March. While most five-year-olds are running around committing felonies, Daniel had a guitar in his hand. It has pretty much been there since. Writing songs from the age of 12 and classically trained throughout his teen years, the young songman left school at the age of 18 with an eye cast on the big open road. He has performed throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and New Zealand, playing such festivals as Canada’s Vancouver Folk and Mariposa Festival and Belgium’s Labadoux, as well as local festivals including Woodford, Falls 22 forte

Together with Rick Astley

The Beautiful & Wild Bonjah In support of their new album Beautiful Wild, Bonjah are heading out and about for some sweet, sweet shows. Produced by Jan Skubiszewski, Beautiful Wild debuted at #41 on the ARIA chart, #11 on the ARIA Australian chart and #2 on the AIR Independent Album chart – a massive effort for any band, let alone an independent outfit. Earlier this year the band returned to the streets that shaped them by playing a couple of shows on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke streets in Melbourne’s CBD. Tone Deaf ’s Jess Mirabello: “Swooning its way through blues-driven solos and sensual lyrics, the highs and lows of love have never sounded so good … There’s no denying the defiant rock n’ roll attitude of the third studio album from the now Melbourne residents.” Torquay Hotel, Torquay – October 3.

Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Bluesfest.

Beav’s Bar, Geelong – June 26 & The Red Room, Ararat – June 27.

Bite Down on This A particularly shady pawnshop in Brunswick is where the story of punk rockers The Sinking Teeth begins. More accurately, the flat above a particularly shady pawnshop in Brunswick is where the story begins. You see, there were holes in the walls and the roof leaked. The owner of the pawnshop also threatened the band with shooting if they practised there. What’s an aspiring band to do? Not let the threat of shooting get in the way. So they set about writing tunes and had some epic parties.

Sure, once the roof caved in they had to move out, but they were on their way.

Not ones to learn from their mistakes, not in a housing sense at least, the members, who had come across each other through various band bills, moved into another derelict place.

They lasted three months until noise complaints and a visit from the council saw them herded on. Still, musically they remained on their way. Last year saw the release of their debut EP, White Water. Salt & Stiches is the name of their forthcoming new EP, and ‘You Can’t Build a Bike Out of Muffins’ is a little teaser. There you have it, kids. Move into a crappy house and you too could become rock stars. The Barwon Club, Geelong – July 25.

Something is Bugging Obits Brooklyn-based musicmakers Obits are back for their second tour of Australia. What do they

do? They play music in the areas of garage, punk and surf. You can call ’em surf-punk if you like.

Garage-punk works, too.

Just don’t be calling them surf-garage. The lads have a new album to show off, last year’s Bed & Bugs.

The album is their third full-length effort. From the presser: “There are scenes and there are connections; trending hashtags and experiences. It’s cool, these are not either/or propositions and there’s no need to postulate any us vs. any them, the kids today and the back in my day. Much of what’s best about any music, all art, across genres, within and beyond the latest craze, is the way it speaks to some definition of ‘us’.” The Barwon Club, Geelong – August 1.

Rhath is Feeling Game Rhath is the name chosen

by Ry Hamilton-Smith as an outlet for his electronic dark chill and horror hop.

Ry started going under the name after he discovered Sun Araw (aka Cameron Stallones) through the video game Hotline Miami. Initially, Ry fit the songwriter-guitarist mould, before taking a few steps over to the electronic genre. Influenced by instrumental hip hop, Ry combined this with his video game influences, notably the soundtracks of titles such as Hotline Miami, Portal and the Fallout series. Performing solo with midi controllers and Ableton Live, Ry mixes in his pre-recorded material in the form of samples. At the end of last year he released This Alien Headdress is Not Helping Me Float.

You can check it out through his Bandcamp.

Rick Astley is touring Australia. No lie.

Lennard Promotions and Max TV are thrilled to present the Together Forever tour, which sees Astley return to our shores for his second visit in a short time, the last time being 2012. Born in the small coal-mining town of NewtonLe-Willows, Astley released a little single called ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ in 1987. His debut single as a solo performer, ‘Never…’ eventually topped the charts in 25 countries. While he would hit the #1spot with his first eight singles (UK Charts), none would leave an impression quite like his first. We all know what has happened since then – ‘Rickrolling’. Since his last Australian tour, Astley has been hard at work on new material. He has also performed a successful tour across South America. GPAC – November 30.

The Bridge, Castlemaine – June 19. He will be joined by The Astros.

Jessey Jackson Seeks Delivery Hepburn Springs’ Old Hepburn Hotel delivers yet another amazing musical month in June, with Surf Coast’s ‘onewoman’ band Jessey Jackson set to take in the venue tomorrow night, June 13. Jessey received her first guitar at the age of seven. She attended a few guitar lessons here and there, but by the time she was 11 she had forgotten all but six chords. A little later down the track she would pop up at the occasional open mic, but it wasn’t until she turned 25 that something clicked.

Encouraged by her family, Jessey would take to the guitar like she had never done before and had soon developed a style of her own. In 2010, at the age of 27, she took to the stage of the inaugural Anglesea Music Festival.

At this, her first major gig, she blew them away.

Deliver Me is her album.

Setting the Right Pace Mike Perry is Paces, a guy on the DJ watchlist.

Mixing influences from Jersey Club, Future Beats and Garage, Paces released his debut EP, The Pact,

Adalita Rocks On Screw objectivity for a moment: Adalita is freakin’ awesome. She is not only responsible for the greatest Australian band of all time, but she absolutely kills it as a solo artist. Anywho, in 2011 Adalita released her self-titled solo debut. It wasn’t easy going, but the strength she found to release the album resonated with the public and critics alike. Magic Dirt fans were rapt, while new ones were made. The album entered the ARIA Album Chart at #23 and would later snag the AIR award for ‘Best Independent Album’.

Self-examination and personal growth followed, as did a second solo album, All Day Venus. Speaking about her sophomore album, Adalita says: “It is a very personal record to me, but I know that people will get different things out of it. The songs represent what I’ve been going through over the last couple of years.

It’s a journey of psychological exploration, trying to understand my own behaviours and emotions.

I wanted to document these new awakenings and transformations.” All Day Venus was produced by longtime Magic Dirt collaborator, Lindsay Gravina.

It features ex-Paradise Motel bassist Matt Bailey, as well as the powerhouse drumming skills of The Dirty Three’s Jim White, Hugo Cran of The Devastations and Lee Parker of Melbourne underground rockers Spite House. The Bridge, Castlemaine – July 5. last year. He released the EP on Kastles’ US label Symbols, being their first Australian release. At the beginning of the year he followed it up with Julian.

The EP featured the vocal talents of Erin Marshall on the title track. It also found its share of love, with triple j, London’s XFM and New Zealand’s George FM all giving the EP a working.

“I played a show with this fella a few months back, he was playing as I walked in and I still remember the vibe he had going, it was something else – everyone was going off ! His originals are awesome, with a massive catalogue to back him up.” – Yahtzel. Wherever, Bendigo – June 27.

The World of Grace Barbé Playing music that nourishes the soul, Grace Barbé is an artist whose music has been compared to Angelique Kidjo and Miriam Makeba. While the Seychelles islander’s music is filled with the cultural influences of her Indian Ocean heritage, touches of modern reggae, pop and soul dance playfully within her sound. Locally, she has performed at festivals including WOMAD, Byron Bay and Woodford; internationally, she has performed at festivals including Sakifo Festival

in La Reunion, Reggae Donnsa in Mauritius and Le Carnivale International de Victoria. Her latest album is Welele!, the colourful follow-up to 2009’s Kreol Daughter.

At home on guitar and bass, Grace also sings in three languages – English, Kreol and French. RPAC, Shepparton – September 25 & COPACC, Colac – October 1.

Blues Boot Camp Blues Boot Camp is a two-day workshop and live performance camp that is designed to give those with a love of music a chance to shine, through both the learning process and through performance. Students from Year 6 up, with an intermediate ability level in instrumentation, or a beginner to intermediate level in vocal performance, are encouraged to enter.

Wayne Jury, Sandy Brady, Dave Steel, Sarah Carroll, Tim Neal and Chris Wilson will take participants through a course that is as fun as it is challenging; one where participants will gain theoretical and practical music industry skills from some of the best in the business. July’s Blues Boot Camp will take place July 2 & 3, with a performance on July 4.

Hit courthouse.org.au for more. Ages 12-26.

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They’re Still Adolescents You have big shows and then you have BIG shows. Even that is selling this one short. Early in the year Southern California’s hardcore heroes the Adolescents announced a wee number of Australian shows. Now Geelong has been added.

I know, awesome news, right?! Cancel your wedding if you have to. Formed in 1980, the band is widely regarded as one of the leading bands of the 1980s hardcore scene. Their career has been stuttered, but their music has never faltered. They released their debut self-titled album (often referred to as ‘The Blue Album’) in 1981, an album considered a punk classic. Their latest release is the 2012 EP American Dogs in Europe. From the presser: “The Adolescents helped establish the blueprint for Orange County punk, along with Agent Orange and Social Distortion. The Adolescents’ blazing energy and quintessential teenage snottiness have them an instant connection with their audience, and defied their upbringing in California’s bastion of staid conservatism … Their impact was an enduring one, as countless followers borrowed from their attitude and covered their best-known songs.” They have influenced bands including Bad Religion, NOFX, Face to Face, Good Riddance, Pennywise, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mudhoney. The Barwon Club, Geelong – July 6.

They will be joined by The Go Set, The Bennies, Batpiss, The Kremlings, Wolfpack and Japan For.

The Spirit of Trappist Afterland Quick bite: “Trappist Afterland makes spirit music for the dispossessed.

They explore psychedelia, ritualism and chanting amidst folk songs.” And with that introduction we are welcomed to the world of Trappist Afterland. The Melbourne band’s 2013 release, Like a Beehive, The Hill Was Alive, has found a lot of love from bloggers locally

and internationally; now they are working on a newie. According to their Facebook, the new album will be called Afterlander.

Martians Café, Deans Marsh – June 14.

Friends with Kings Multi-platinum Irish folk band The High Kings will hit Australia shortly for a healthy run of shows across September and October. The band is the combined talents of Finbarr Clancy, Brian

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Dunphy, Martin Furey and Darren Holden, four men from accomplished musical pedigrees. Since their formation in 2008 (the band is the brainchild of Celtic Woman manager Dave Kavanagh), The High Kings have sold out hundreds of shows across Ireland and the US, made numerous TV appearances and recorded three studio albums, one live album and one DVD. Friends for Life is their latest release. Playing “Folk ’n Roll”, the band plays 13 instruments in their live performances. Eastbank Centre, Shepparton – October 1 & WCPA, Ballarat – October 2.

Nobody Leaves Tracy McNeil On July 1 songbird Tracy McNeil will release her new album, Nobody Ever Leaves. The album is one which fuses two worlds – that of her homeland, Canada, and her now permanent Australian residency. Tracy said hello to Melbourne’s music world as one-half of alt-country-folk duo Fireside Bellows; the other half being Jordie Lane.

Following the release of one album, separate ways they went. Tracy released another album in 2011 before life got in the way – car accidents, immigration red-tape etc.

The challenges thrown up were channelled into good things, namely McNeil’s band, The GoodLife.

The GoodLife are Bree Hartley (drums), Matt Green (guitar), Rod Boothroyd (bass) and Luke Sinclair (guitar).

The Loft, Warrnambool – July 5 & The Bridge, Castlemaine – July 19.

They Sound Familiar Quick bite: While Green Day are off saving the planet or doing whatever it is they do these days, American Idiot, Australia’s number one Green Day tribute band, will be dropping by Bendigo this weekend. Based out of Melbourne, American Idiot is a high energy

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outfit dedicated to doing justice to the punk rock heavyweights. They dress in character and perform in character, playing songs from Green Day’s entire back catalogue.

Joining them will be Faith No More tribute band Cuckoo for Caca and locals, Slydekrieg.

Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – June 14.

saddle again with new EP, Firing Lines. Blending high energy rock with punk attitude, the band takes the best of the rock powers of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s and mixes it with a modern “Melbourne sound”. The Loft, Warrnambool – June 26.

Motez Fesses Up

A touch over a decade ago, Tim Guy was living in a tiny two bedroom apartment with a mate on one of Richmond’s busiest roads. Being in such close confines did nothing to squeeze inspiration, and soon Tim was crafting his debut album. The

Baghdad-born and honourary South Australian, Motez Obaidi, who works under Motez, is a man showing that Adelaide’s music scene is far more than just hip hop. The electronic prouder has won favour for his remixes of some of RnB and pop’s biggest names, including Mark Morrison’s ‘Return of the Mack’, Justin Timberlake’s ‘I Like You’ and Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinking About You’. He has also performed alongside the likes of Disclosure and Pete Tong on his way to becoming a club favourite.

Now Motez is thrilled to welcome his debut single, ‘Own Up’. Your Music Radar’s Graham Porter: “This track puts Motez on the map and pushes the pin through the wall into next door.” Star Bar, Bendigo – July 11 & Eureka, Geelong – July 17.

Tim Guy & the Land of Confusion

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recording of the album took him to New Zealand, a place that spoke to him.

So, after working to save enough for an airfare, Tim set up shop in Mt. Eden. It was in New Zealand where he recorded his second and third albums. You can take the boy out of Melbourne for only so long, however.

Moving into a place opposite an old prison in the northern suburbs, Tim went about work on his fourth release, Dreaming of a Night Mango.

Backed by a cracking band called the Land of Confusion, Tim hits The Bridge, Castlemaine on June 14. He will be joined by Anika Moa.

Feeling the Good Vibrations If you were to ask someone to rattle off some of the most iconic punk bands of all time, you would hope they would mention The Vibrators. The original incarnation of the band – comprised of Ian “Knox” Carnochan, Pat Collier, John Ellis and John “Eddie” Edwards – formed in 1976. Bands including The Exploited, UK Subs, Die Toten Hosen, GBH and R.E.M. are among those who have covered the band’s work. The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 22.

Laced in Lust, We Salute You Thin Lizzy, Mötley Crüe, The Angels – Adelaide’s Laced in Lust have been likened to bands with some serious rock credentials. The band performed their first show in 2012, finding success early when they took out the Rocking Angel Bourbon Encouragement Award. The prize money allowed the band to selffund and release their debut single ‘Fire’. After building a name, the band was hunted down

by Demon Doll Records (USA), Metal Pesado (Japan) and Australia’s Off The Record to negotiate distribution of their debut EP, also called Fire.

Now they’re back in the

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Murdena & Friends

SURF COA ST

Ba rba rell a Written By Daniel Waight

Chatting with the guys from the Surf Coast’s own Barbarella is like listening to some sort of mutual admiration society.

Barb Peppard and Evan Jones are just so full of praise for each other’s abilities and clearly deeply respect each other as musicians.

The duo plays a mixture of a few covers and Barb’s original songs, with Evan providing the lead guitar alongside Barb’s acoustic rhythm and beautiful vocals. They met while playing in a backing band for Victoriana Gaye and then decided to play some solo gigs. They regularly play at the monthly Aireys Inlet Community Market and various other performances in the area. They’re certainly becoming quite well known in Aireys Inlet.

“Lots of people call me Barbarella now,” Barb says. “I’m like Sting: I’ve just got the one name.”

The Irish-born songwriter says she always likes to have a tinge of melancholy in her tunes.

“I think it’s the Irish in me. It’s the whole lamenting thing. I always think a good song is something that rips your heart out. It’s always got to have a sad edge to it.”

“She’s a whinger,” jokes Evan, who says Barb has a real gift for songwriting, although she hastens to add that her skills have improved greatly since the two began performing together. Evan says he tries to provide a certain atmosphere to the act to allow Barb’s songs to really flourish.

“One thing I try and do is provide a framework so Barb doesn’t have to think so much about what she’s playing,” he says, “because you sing better when you don’t play and these songs need to be sung really well. I think I add some pretty decorations here and there, a little bit of tinsel.”

“Some of the songs I write are kind of sparse, but they’re songs I imagine you’d have a band for, and Evan will become the band and give it a groove,” Barb adds. “Without it you’re not capturing what the songs are about.”

“As far as the structure of the songs is concerned, creatively they’re very much Barb’s,” Evan continues. “She goes to some really interesting chord changes that I probably wouldn’t have ever considered, and they’re really good.”

Barb is currently working on an album of her originals with local producer Valdi Kapelis which will feature a number of other Surf Coast musicians in addition to Evan. She’s hoping to have it ready for release by Christmas time.

As corny and cliché as it may sound, Barbarella just hope to play nice songs that people will enjoy. “It sounds naff to say hopeful, positive songs, but we just want to spread love and positivity and hope,” Evan says, tongue firmly in cheek.

“I’ve written songs that have come from my heart,” Barb says, “so it’s nice for me when people listen to my songs and they kind of put themselves in bits of the song and go ‘I’ve had a similar experience’ or ‘I’ve felt like that’. You would hope people would get a bit of hope from that. I think that’s what it’s about for me. I always think songs are like photographs – they capture a second. They’re just little snapshots of something.”

You can hear Barbarella at the Aireys Hall when the Aireys Inlet Community Markets resume in September.

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Through fusing toetapping country dance hall fun with urban blues and folk-rock, Bellarine Peninsula’s Murdena have created a sound that tips its hat to the likes of Justin Townes Earle, Shovels and Rope and Mason Jennings. And it would seem the music world is taking notice, with the band taking out top honours in the Foot in the Door competition at Queenscliff Music Festival in 2012, as well as winning the Tamworth Music Festival’s Battle of the Bands Competition in 2013. According to their Facebook page, the band’s new EP, Ruby, should be with us shortly.

Joining them will be Bec and the Big River Trio, a Warrnamboolbased quartet who play an authentic mix of rockabilly and old and new country, with a touch of blues thrown in to keep things interesting. The Loft, Warrnambool – June 27.

Good Time Aussie Bogalars Quick bite: Now, I would like to tell you how the Good Time Aussie Bogalars describe their band on Facebook, but

The Light of Day Ocean Grove will host the first Australian version of a worldwide charity concert supported by rockers Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, Joe Grushecky, Darlene Love, Willie Nile, Garland Jeffreys and many others. What began as a birthday party to lift the spirits of co-founder and guiding inspiration Bob Benjamin, a well-known New Jersey/New York music business figure after his Parkinson’s diagnosis 15 years ago, the Light of Day Foundation has raised over US$3 million worldwide through the ‘Power of Music’ in its fight against Parkinson’s and related neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and PSP. The Light of Day Australia (LODA) charity concert, staged in aid of Australian and US Parkinson’s charities, will take place at The Piping Hot Chicken and

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it is a little rude for a respectable publication such as this. However, they do use a word beginning with ‘C’.

Clue: it is a word that has been used a great many times recently to describe a certain prime minister and his sidekick.

So cleaning it up, they write ‘Loose Tunes from Scamps in Ballarat’. And loose they indeed are – loose by name, loose by nature. They’re songs for your filthy-minded grandma. The Karova, Ballarat – June 27.

It’s Not So Hard-Ons REMINDER: On June 20, 1984, a group of teenagers strapped on their gear and busted out a hybrid sound that would later be responsible for several speaker deaths. In celebration of 30 years in the game, original members Peter Black, Keish de Silva and Ray Ahn, together with current member Murray Ruse, will tour the country, playing tunes from their 1984-1993 period. The Karova, Ballarat – June 12; The Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex, Geelong – June 14; and The Bridge, Castlemaine – June 15.

Burger Grill on Saturday, July 19.

The event promises to be the biggest in the venue’s history, with the likes of Marshall Okell, Chris Wilson, Rebecca Barnard, Nick Barker, Jackie Marshall, Tim Neal, Sarah Carroll, Sweet Felicia and the Bash Big Band packing the bill.

LOD Australia is organised by local music fans Alan Barber and Richard Grimmett.

Alan and Richard were involved in last year’s New York Marathon for Parkinson’s campaign which netted $17,500 for Parkinson’s Victoria.

It was during that time that Alan met with the organisers of the Light of Day Foundation in New Jersey and was given their blessing to bring the event Down Under.

Alan and Richard are committed to establishing the show as an annual event to raise funds and awareness for the Parkinson’s cause. In future years they hope to bring over some of the American performers to play guest spots.

Light of Day is the title of a Springsteen song and a film starring Parkinson’s campaigner Michael J. Fox, who himself lives with the disease. The first

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Karingal Appeal Launch Concert The wonderful Eddi Reader is the guest of honour at this month’s Karingal Appeal Launch Concert. Born in Glasgow, Reader found fame with acoustic pop outfit Fairground Attraction.

Although a short-lived band, they had a monster hit with ‘Perfect’. She released her tenth album, Vagabond, in February. All funds raised will assist in the building of The Eastern Geelong Community Centre, a new inclusive space that will provide recreational, social, cultural, economic, community and health benefits for people in the Eastern Geelong region. Reader: “I am honoured to be an Ambassador for the Karingal Appeal. Community and education are close to my heart, and I believe totally in inclusive practice, ensuring arts, education and community programs are available to all people with and without a disability. I have researched with great interest the work Karingal has done over the past 62 years, and it is a real privilege to be associated with an organisation dedicated to enriching people’s lives through support, advocacy, partnership and choice. I hope you join me and support the Karingal Appeal to raise funds to build the Eastern Geelong Community Centre, and be a part of my final concert on my 2014 Australian tour.” Tim McCallum will also perform, while ABC’s Hilary Harper will host. Deakin’s Costa Hall @ GPAC – June 25.

LOD event was in the Springsteen home territory of Asbury Park, New Jersey, where it now runs for 10 days of shows each year, with satellite tours in Europe and Canada.

“We can’t have Springsteen but we do have a great line-up of home-grown Aussie talent,” said Alan. Half the money raised will go to Parkinson’s Victoria and half will go to the LOD Foundation in New Jersey. “We promise this will be a memorable evening of music for a very good cause. Hopefully everyone who attends will leave informed about Parkinson’s as well as the positive message that everyone needs to work together to beat this cursed disease.”

Light of Day Australia is on Saturday, July 19 at The Piping Hot Chicken and Burger Grill. Tickets are available for $65 through the venue. lightofday.org f acebook.com/ lightofdayaustralia twitter.com/ lodsaustralia1 What is Parkinson’s?

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disorder of unknown cause. While advancing age remains the greatest risk factor, one in 10 sufferers are diagnosed before they reach 40.

There is no objective test, or biomarker, for

Parkinson’s disease, so the rate of misdiagnosis can be relatively high, especially when the diagnosis is made by a non-specialist. Estimates of the number of people living with the disease therefore vary, but recent research indicates more than five million worldwide have Parkinson’s disease.

• A pproximately 80,000 Australians have PD. • S ince 2006, numbers have increased by 17 per cent in people over 50.

Generally, prevalence is increasing by 4 percent per year and will double by 2030.

• PD can affect adults of any age.

• Every year, 10,950 Australians are diagnosed (30 people every day).

• 1 in 5 (20 per cent) diagnosed are of working age.

We are using this opportunity to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s Victoria.

Currently the Victorian State Government commits just $200,000 per year – the equivalent of less than $9 per person living with Parkinson’s – while the Federal Government provides no recurrent funding. Every year 10,950 Australians are diagnosed (30 people every day) and 1 in 5 of those is of working age.

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Tim Hulsman Written by Tex Miller

Tim ‘Tonic’ Hulsman is much more than just a man playing lapsteel on stage. Together with his intimate stories and delivery, Hulsman is a storytelling experience that is about the journey and deeper meaning, rather than just getting up on stage to play through a set of songs. Finally and excitedly, we are able to get our hands on Dead Man’s Garden, Hulsman’s incredible debut record that is to be launched at Beav’s Bar on Friday, July 4. Leading up to the release of the album, Tim sat down with Forte to give us an insight into how it was created. Although he has released material in the past, Dead Man’s Garden is a lot more professional and thought out than previous releases.

Creating Electronic Music Written by Phil Kearney

Electronic music is everywhere these days and with current technology, a new breed of musician is able to create, distribute and promote their music from almost anywhere, anytime. I caught up with Chris Noonan from Oxygen College to get the low down on what Electronic Music Production is all about and how to get started.

How easy is it to start making electronic music?

“I’ve released albums in the past that were more typical naive independent CDs where you would do an album launch and release a few copies to radio and industry and then nothing would really happen past that. This time around I’m planning on touring all around the country and playing a couple of gigs in Japan.

I’m really happy with this release and can’t wait for everybody to hear it.”

Recorded with Tristen Bird on his Freshwater Creek property, the lovely tones to the album’s instrumentation can be attributed to the analogue recording equipment used throughout the sessions and having an exact idea of what Hulsman wanted

to achieve on this release.

“We recorded the album in a big old farmhouse that Tristen was renting and he had one whole room dedicated to a studio. Different rooms were used for different sounds and instruments and I think recording in a home studio environment allowed for the album to sound a lot more free and relaxed because there isn’t the pressure of recording in a big professional studio. I was a lot more at ease.”

Influenced by the likes of Ben Harper and Kelly Joe Phelps, it was after seeing a musician playing lap steel with a jazz group at the St Andrews Hotel that sparked Hulsman’s love for the instrument.

“I saw this guy playing lap steel and it sounded amazing. I went home and started playing slide

The Audreys Go Regional

BallaRatCat Comedy

REMINDER: The charming blues-folk-rock favourites known as The Audreys will play Kyneton Town Hall on June 13 and The Vine, Bendigo on June 15 in support of their latest album, ’Til My Tears Roll Away. The album saw Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall once again team up with Shane O’Mara, their longtime partner and friend. The album was recorded at Adelaide’s Mixmasters studio and is said to be a grittier affair than previous releases.

Quick bite: Is there anything BallaRatCat can’t do? Granted, probably a fair bit actually, but what they can do – and do incredibly well – is serve up some of the funniest evenings you’re likely to come across. Ever. In your entire life. Their next rib-tickling event features the comedic masterminds of Aunty Donna, Harley Breen, Sarah Jones and Chris Dewberry. Aunty Donna is one of Australia’s funniest sketch comedy groups. Formerly Ballarat lads, the now Melbournebased trio has racked up over 400,000 YouTube views while seducing over 16,000 followers. The George Hotel, Ballarat – June 13.

on my normal acoustic and that was the first indication I think of where my music was going to develop to. I bought one from a music shop and with it they gave me a DVD of Kelly Joe Phelps playing. To this day he is one of the biggest influences on my music.”

With piano, drums and a lot more instrumentation on the album than in Hulsman’s solo live show, and teaming up with Nina Grant who sang a few duets on the album, this upcoming tour is switching into duo mode, offering a richer flavour to the tunes. Kicking off with the Beav’s Bar launch, Famous Will and Luke Legs will be there to turn this into quite possibly the best local launch of the year.

Hometown shows are always fantastic and Hulsman can’t wait to take to the stage once again. “I’m really stoked about having Luke Legs playing at this album launch and Famous Will is going to be great, too.

It will be the unveiling of this duo. It’s great to be able to look across the stage and see someone else up there with me.

Her vocal harmonies are chilling and my music just soars when I’m playing a gig with her.”

If you haven’t got around Tim Hulsman’s music yet, mark the Beav’s gig in your diary now.

Buy the album, tell your friends and support one of your own.

When&Where: Beav’s Bar, Geelong – Friday July 4

As Australian as Austen Tayshus Paul Kelly is widely regarded as one of Australia’s greatest lyricists.

Nick Cave, too. But in 1983 Austen Tayshus, the stage name of Alexander Jacob Gutman, released a song whose lyrics were quite brilliant. The spokenword hit ‘Australiana’ was the number one single in Australia for eight weeks and remains the highestselling Australian single of all time. Alexander, commonly called Sandy, first performed as Austen Tayshus at Sydney’s Comedy Store in 1981. On its release, ‘Australiana’ sold more than 200,000 copies. It would lead to MC spots and supports for the biggest Australian bands of the time including Mental as Anything, INXS, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Uncanny X-Men and Richard Clapton. He has performed over 10,000 shows around the world. The Piping Hot Chicken Shop – June 28.

Electronic music creation can take on multiple forms and there are many ways to get started, it really depends on what you want to achieve. Advances in technology have made the creation of electronic music affordable and easy to achieve. A great example of this is a product by Ableton called Push. Push is a new instrument that allows you to control melody, harmony, beats, sounds, and song structure. Push puts the fundamental elements of music making at your fingertips - and it fits in a backpack alongside your laptop!

What type of basic equipment is needed to start creating?

A simple inexpensive analog synthesizer can begin the process or you may wish to do multitrack recordings using a computer and software. Synthesis is easily performed with products like the new KORG Volca and beyond experimenting and performance, recording your ideas will require a computer/laptop an Audio interface and a DAW (sequencing software). Komplete Audio 6 by Native Instruments is a USB Powered, Low-latency audio interface perfect for a compact recording setup and Ableton Live 9 Intro, Standard or Suite 9 are great platforms for the artist starting out or the pro taking on the world stage.

What if I just want to mix songs by my favourite artists?

Native Instruments Traktor S2 or S4 is the trusted choice of pros while still remaining beginner friendly. Otherwise you can use the Z1 controller loaded with Traktor and rock the party from your iPhone or iPad. Once an artist has began creating with a basic set up, what other gear can be added to take their music to the next level?

Creation and inspiration come in many forms. The important thing for you may be putting your own stamp on a song or improving your workflow to keep tapped into that inspiration. For example, having a decent set of Speakers can save you having to check and re-check your songs as they develop. This can be achieved at a fairly low cost with some trusted brands. Mackie MR Mark 3 Series studio monitors are an excellent example. MIDI Controller Keyboards are also a fantastic way to interact with your DAW and its VST instruments. Other common additions to a basic recording setup are: Headphones, Mixing desks, Microphones, Microphone pre-amps and good quality VST instruments/Plugins like Native Instruments Komplete 9.

With this type of equipment what styles/genres are artists able to create?

With the advent of modern music Technology, musical styles and genres have almost endless sub-categories. If it’s Techno, House, Hip Hop, Dub Step, Drum n Bass or Industrial Acid Moon Rock, you can create it and achieve magical results from the comfort of your bedroom.

How has the internet and sites such as YouTube effected the distribution of electronic music and the exposure that can be obtained by releasing music direct to the public?

The internet and Social Media like Youtube, Bandcamp and Facebook have opened a new chapter in the book of music. You can record, release, publish and promote a song yourself from your computer and have the chance to reach a wider audience than ever before.

For someone creating electronic music, are there opportunities to perform live and if so what kind of skills sets are required?

Live Performance opportunities are readily available, from your friends 18th Birthday to your local venues, festivals, national tours and on to the International stage. Don’t forget the internet! Music performance as an art form can be anything you like and as long as you have an audience, an imagination and a song or two, you have a recipe for sharing your skills with others.

Any other tips for people looking at getting into EMP? Get Inspired. What makes you excited about music? Listen to a variety of music, talk to people about music, whether its friends, family or your local music shop. Remember, music is about the sound and feel of the instrument/equipment so ensure you learn how to use it, practise hard and develop your skills.

Chris Noonan is the coordinator of Oxygen College’s Electronic Music Production course.

For more info on equipment, getting started or how to further develop your skills, contact Chris on 52 159175 or email chrisn@oxygencollege.com.au

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DUNE RATS local feature STORY Written by Natalie Rogers

It may be cold outside but things are heating up for bong-loving Brisbanites, the Dune Rats. Not ones to revel in bad weather, the Dunies are back on home soil with plans to make these first weeks of winter their bitch. Now affectionately known as the month of Dune, it’s the perfect time to check out their explosive live show when they roll into town in support of their self-titled debut album.

When&Where: The Grace Darling, Melbourne – June 15; The Karova, Ballarat – June 19; and The Corner, Melbourne – June 20

Their long-awaited LP will make many fans and followers jump with joy, but I know one guy who is doing a little happy dance of his own – Dunies’ drummer, BC Michaels. “It’s awesome! We’re so stoked to finally have an album out. I’ve been playing music in bands for, fuck I don’t know, since I was sixteen, and I’ve never put out an album before, so I’m happy.”

This national tour will see the guys play three times in Victoria, including a show at The Grace Darling in Melbourne on the 15th of Dune (try it, it’s addictive) where they’ll be showing the ropes to a new crop of would-be rockers, thanks to the ‘DUNIES HIGHSCHOOL BAND COMP’. The winners of each state will be charged with warming up the crowd at their city’s all-ages gigs, and if they’re lucky the chance to partake in backstage shenanigans.

“I remember what it was like trying to get a gig when I was in high school, so I feel for them. I know what they’re going through,” BC acknowledged. “There were so many sweet bands that entered. It’s a shame we couldn’t pick more of them, but the ones we did are wicked. We’ll have a lot of fun.”

BC admits they do get up to mischief on occasion: “It depends if we’re touring with our manager or not. Usually Matty [Woo] will make sure we’re eating properly and stuff when we’re touring, and not getting too fucked up,” he laughs, “but it doesn’t always work out that way.” He also willingly concedes that the Dune Rats are hardly morning people, and nights clouded with beer and brews are the norm.

The Dunies have built their reputation on energetic live sets and their ability to back it up night after night, but life on the road can become tiresome. That’s why it’s important to have buddies on the tour bus.

“There’s a really tight-knit group of musicians around Australia now. We’ve toured with Children Collide for thirty shows and we love [frontman] Johnny McKay. DZ Deathrays took us out on our first tour ever, and we were friends with those guys for years before that even and we always catch up when we can.” Grinspoon’s Phil Jamieson is an avid supporter as well and recently posted a 20 second clip featuring his daughter on their Facebook page spruiking their new album.

“We seem to run into Phil Jamieson fucking everywhere that we go! Like in airport lounges and shit like that. We’ll be walking down the streets of Sydney and he’ll be in a pub and yell out, ‘Hey Danny, BC!’ We’re all pretty tight.”

Another band that seems to have fallen under the Dunies’ spell is L.A. surfer rockers FIDLAR, whose punk lineage is well documented. Two members of the

four-piece, Max and Elvis Kuehn, are sons of Greg Kuehn, keyboard player for SoCal legends T.S.O.L. “It was awesome to support FIDLAR last year – they’re good mates of ours now and I’m sure they will be for quite a while. We met up with them last time we were in the States and went to their house which was wicked. They’re on the same label as us now, as well.”

Dune Rats’ first full-length album is out now on Ratbag Records and BC tells me that the experience was somewhat of a game changer. “This was the first time we wrote with Brett, our bass player, even though he’s been travelling around playing with us for a couple of years now, and in that time we’ve definitely became more musical.”

Holed up in a beach shack out the back of Brett’s mum’s house, the record began to take shape: “We wrote it there over the period of a month. We wanted to write songs we knew we’d want to go out and play for the next year. We didn’t really talk about what sound we were going for, we just jammed together and the songs that came naturally were the ones they put on the album. It’s pretty diverse and quite a bit different to any of the stuff we’ve put out before.”

The guys say that they were inspired when they uncovered a letter written

by Steve Albini (influential American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer) addressed to Nirvana in the early days of recording for In Utero (’93).

In the letter, Steve expressed the sentiment that if they couldn’t record an album in under a week they had no right to be in a rock band. Armed with this revelation the Dunies called upon Children Collide’s tour manager/sound engineer and friend, Woody Annison, and went to work. “We recorded it in just a little over a week – it was an incredible time.”

With that experience under their belts the Dune Rats have become accustomed to doing things on the fly, if the clip for the single ‘Funny Guy’ is anything to go by. “We actually came up with that idea on the morning of filming because we needed a video clip and we didn’t have any money to make one – total spur of the moment.” And BC had the starring role. “Sure, it was fun to make – although I had to do the embarrassing shit, walking around Paris dressed like a clown!” (Check it out now at dunerats.tv.)

So what’s next for these lovable larrikins? “Well, it’s not announced yet, but we’ve got a really sweet tour in January – I don’t know if I can say anything about it.”

That’s a scoop!

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BENDED restaurant feature Story and photos by Danielle Shaw

An iconic Geelong pub has been resurrected under the leadership of local custodians Kym Robertson and Don Little. Previously trading as The Bended Elbow and then The Yarra Hotel, Bended sits at 69 Yarra Street and owes its name to that of the prior establishment. Although maintaining they aren’t associated with the Bended Elbow brand, Kym says "we’ve called it Bended to emulate the great things that Bended Elbow was famous for."

Meal deal nights, welcoming service and live music are preserved by Bended with Mondays being a steak night and Tuesdays a parma night, both for $13.90.

Second Chance Wednesdays allow diners to choose a steak or parma, and the duo has just introduced trivia from 7 p.m. Sundays see a roast dinner for $12.90 and live music from 3 p.m. onwards. In addition to Sunday sessions, Bended host live bands playing every Friday and Saturday nights, as well as acoustic singles and duos. Upstairs opens soon and will showcase bigger acts once a month, as well as corporate events, conferences and functions.

Kym speaks of Bended in a tone that suggests pride and excitement, and this can be attributed to her finally realising a dream in an industry she has dominated. “I always wanted to have a local. You know, where people would come in and we’d know everyone’s names. I never thought I’d actually do it though, but the opportunity arose and I love it,” says Kym. During our chat she greets the patrons as they enter and I find myself inspired by her genuine personability and passion. A great relationship amongst staff is evident and Kym tells me they often visit Little Malop Street’s Beav’s Bar for Wednesday night knockoff drinks and karaoke, which she is considering introducing to a night at Bended.

Vast structural changes are occurring upstairs prior to its reopening, whereas downstairs, with its Japanese oak bar and brass fittings, required only “repainting and freshening up”. Despite making minimal alterations to the overall framework, Kym, who has managed Home House, Eureka and The Carlton Hotel, has implemented extensive changes to the food and drinks on offer.

“We are doing pub fare, a little high end. We offer handmade pasta with natural, local produce and have a great pork rib eye on the menu,” says Kym. But the favourite is the parma. Served with salad and steakhouse chips, the Aussie favourite took the chefs a month to refine. A decent kid’s meal offers more options than most including a little pirate chicken parma and chips, long rope fresh-cut Napoli pasti and peg leg chicken fingers and chips, all for $9. All kids meals come with salad or veggies, and for the under 12s a drink and ice cream is included.

Bended runs 16 rotating craft beers and ciders on tap and aims to look after the smaller Geelong and Melbourne-based breweries. The spacious Geelong landmark has three beer gardens and will showcase some of Australia’s top kegs otherwise missing from the Geelong pub scene, including Byron Bay’s Stone and Wood. Kym and Don have kept the wine list very local, with appearances from Leura Park and Jack Rabbit vineyards and Bended has found that their clientele appreciate this nod to our impressive region.

Blessedly free of poker machines in a town somewhat addled by them, Bended is a relaxed local that values its blow-ins as much as those that frequent the boozer. Cold, clean, quality beer is aplenty, courtesy of what Kym says is a fantastic dispensing system. Patrons can enjoy affordable meals delivered by friendly wait staff with accents to die for and plasma screens occupy wall space on the bottom level, making the pub a popular spot for footy fans. There is an ATM and a cigarette machine on premises. Bended is open seven days from 11.30 a.m. until late.

INFO: 69 Yarra Street Geelong Phone: 03 5229 4477 / bended.com.au Open 7 Days: lunch and dinner

forte 29

restaurant feature Written by Belinda McIntosh

INFO: 93A Little Malop Street Geelong, Phone: 03 5221 0287 Open Tue to Sat 12, til late

Pistol Pete's Food & Blues Having always been an avid music lover and playing a bit of it himself back in the day, Pete Raimondo’s decision to open a blues music restaurant here in Little Malop Street was a no-brainer in his mind. Pete’s gamble has paid off, with his business giving a new edge to Geelong’s dining and music life. One of the first artists that started Pete’s love affair of blues music was Chris Wilson. From there his passion evolved and he discovered his love for blues music.

Pete travelled around America two years ago on a family vacation that turned into a research trip of great South American cuisine, and with a love already for Louisiana Creole Cajun-style cooking, Pete knew exactly what he liked and what he didn’t. The business owner likes to call his time away, a “blues and booze barbeque trip with basketball and baseball”. The restaurant owner has since travelled back to America for more research, enlisting the help of mates who live in Memphis and New Orleans to take him on a “non-touristy’ trip, showing him the places that locals eat at in order to get a taste of what real American food should be.

As he says, “regardless of where you travel, you always find the best food where the locals go”.

Ideally, Pete wanted to join his two passions of food and blues music to create a sense of Beale Street, a street in Memphis where there’s copious amounts of bars and restaurants that people flock to simply to have a good time and where the music and food make the street what it is. He had envisioned Little Malop Street becoming somewhat like Beale Street amongst Dive Bar, Opium Bar, Beav’s Bar, Eureka and various restaurants where people could relax and take in the atmosphere.

Pete describes what he does as “effortless. I’m not coming to work, I’m coming to cook.” One of the secret ingredients in creating his popular

gumbo (a stew-like soup including shrimp and a traditional Cajun-style smoked sausage) is playing New Orleans music to get that extra bit of oomph in the making of the recipe.

Pistol’s owner knew there was plenty of blues lovers and artists in Geelong but having a place where they could go and perform or listen to this style of music seemed to be something the city was missing. Pete knows he can’t change things for Geelong singlehandedly but said, “if I can do a little bit and that encourages someone to go ‘oh yeah, I might give something else a go in this little street’, then it’s all good.”

Pistol Pete’s menu includes not only his popular gumbo, but pulled pork dishes, burgers, submarine sandwiches and southern-style fried chicken amongst other great hearty meals and snacks for when you’re a bit peckish.

A dark blue interior with photos on one side showing his adventures of his trips and the other side showing the artists who inspire him makes you realise how personalised this business really is.

Pistol Pete’s has been getting great feedback from visitors to the venue, with people feeling that this is what Geelong needed. Pete is always looking for new artists to introduce and keep the public entertained and the atmosphere lively.

He’s keen on encouraging local talent new and old and that’s where his Open Mic night on Tuesdays comes in handy.

You don’t have to be a blues musician to play there either; Pete welcomes all soul, folk and roots musicians.

Pete plans on changing the menu up a bit in the future but mainly he wants to let the business grow and see what direction it heads in. “The main thing for me is to be able to consistently do good food and good music and as long as that’s happening then the rest will fall into place.”

Ballarat LoungeRoom: Someplace Far, Far Away From the Everyday Don’t take your Snuggie out of mothballs quite yet – and as James Brown would put it, “Get up offa that thing!” – because the Ballarat LoungeRoom is transforming winter in Ballarat into some place warm and wonderful!

The cold weather cousin of the popular summertime Ballarat Backyard Tasters has found cosy digs through June at M.A.D.E. (Museum of Australian Democracy @ Eureka) and is bringing musical experiences from the world over to the dance floor for the season. With two Friday evening LoungeRooms to go ( June 13 – June Gypsy Town & June 20 – Welcome Home Refugee Week Special), there is still time to travel someplace far, far away from the same-old, same-old.

The Ballarat LoungeRoom doors open at 5 p.m. for refreshments – light meals from Ballarat’s diverse ethnic eateries, bevvies from the M.A.D.E. Cash Bar and sweeties from an array of local dessertistas. Take time to stoke your furnace because the music starts at 6 p.m. and doesn’t let up until 8 p.m., leaving time to move on to even more mayhem at one of Ballarat’s prime live music venues like Karova Lounge, Eastern Station Hotel, Babushka Lounge, The George Hotel – you name it.

Friday, June 13 is Gypsy Town featuring The Imprints – if the heart could play music, theirs would take you on a sweet voyage to the never-never – and 30 forte

La Rumba, with the passion of Flamenco drawing on the mystery of Spain, Egypt and India.

Friday, June 20 is Welcome Home, a Refugee Week Special, with all of the artists sharing a refugee background. Leading the charge is Abe Ape offering spoken-word and hip hop that is the exaltation of the spirit, movement of the heart, and the boom-boom-bap. Abe Ape is followed by The Living Arrows with compelling song-stories of local Afghani refugees in domestic detention. The night finishes with Ajak Kwai and Band, a fiery Senegalese singer drawing on unique sounds of her Dinka background, gospel music and driving jazz rhythms.

The Ballarat LoungeRoom and Backyard Tasters are parts of a larger free live music program supported by the City of Ballarat Arts and Culture Unit, and that program is part of Ballarat Council’s commitment to developing a Ballarat live music strategy supporting emerging and established musos, live music venues and audiences hungry for the unsurpassed excitement of experiencing music performed live before their eyes (and ears).

Music Victoria’s recent Regional Live Music Census shows that small live music venues generate over $152M in revenue, 22,500 full-time equivalent jobs for musicians and 65,000 fulltime equivalent jobs for venue staff. And this is regional Victoria, not Melbourne!

B E ND I G O

STACY VA R NER Written by Darlene Taylor

While many of Bendigo’s musical identities attended high school in the days when bands like Guns N’ Roses and Metallica were in their prime, Stacy Varner’s both a current student and a fan of music by older hard rock and metal bands. “People will disagree with me here, but I just like the whole vibe of the old stuff,” she says.

With a father who used to turn the family home into a heavy music haven on Saturday mornings while his wife was at work, the fourteen-year-old singer/ acoustic guitarist developed musical tastes that aren’t necessarily shared by her peers. Although she’s a member of a generation that’s force-fed overnight social media celebrities and talent show contestants with tales of misery, Varner’s more impressed by the work ethic of groups like those mentioned before.

“The thing that really interests me,” she says, “is how they got there and how much hard work they had to do ’cause all the stuff these days (it’s) like put something on YouTube and [you’ll be] famous.”

Even if she’s not totally averse to television programs such as The Voice, Varner’s aware the main emphasis of such ventures isn’t always the music. “All these shows … sometimes you get people that aren’t very good but they have their sob stories,” she says.

At this very early stage of her career, Varner’s focused on getting as much experience as she can, including by participating in school-related occasions and awareness raisers like the Bendigo Suicide Prevention and Awareness Walk, an event she’s eager to be involved with because of the importance of the

what's on in the r at?

Written by Daniel Lock

Hello all that want to be individuals, Daniel here with the what’s on the line-up in Ballarat’s primary live original music venues.

Ballarat is historically the birthplace of some of Australia’s most distinctive and acclaimed contemporary music.

So with those figures in mind, Ballarat Council is celebrating its heritage in a new way in its commitment to addressing the barriers inhibiting its local live music scene and to supporting opportunities for musicians throughout the district. The Ballarat LoungeRoom series is just one such opportunity.

Coming up are: • Something in Common improvisational music workshops (through June 22) • Federation Uni Live from Ballarat concert series (through September) • Adam Simmons’ Festival of Slow Music (August 23-31) • BYou FReeZA Young Musicians Workshops and Ballarat Battle of the Bands • Arts Business Basics Fundamentals for Musos (August – November) • Ballarat Backyard Tasters concert series (February – March).

So whether you’re a working musician or a punter it’s well worth abandoning your armchair and braving the weather for a bracing experience of live music, Ballarat style!

When&Where: Ballarat Lounge Room @ M.A.D.E. – June 13 & June 20. Free

The Karova Lounge kicks off this issue’s agenda with the Hard-Ons playing tonight, Thursday, June 12th. This punk rock band has been setting standards in music since 1982 and they’re set to rock out with support from Clowns and Dead.

So get a ticket from New Generation, The Regent Cinema or Oztix for $15+ and get set for a loud night. If you have work the following day and would prefer a more casual night, The Eastern has Adam Carrol taking over resident musical opener from Shifty Dunbar for Open Mic Thursdays this month.

Friday, 13th June and The Babushka Lounge has booked Tim Guy and Anika Moa (NZ).

Entry – TBC. Bad Luck Friday is also a time travel to the ’90s with Karova hosting a ’90s-themed party – so, we got to pray that we make it Friday.

Entry – $5.

The Main Bar hosts Luke Watt, supported by local lass Freya Hollick. So if you’re looking for some folk or blues, or both, this may be the place for you tonight.

Entry – $10.

Saturday, 14th June has The Babushka Lounge hosting Steve Saxxon and Amy Francis.

Entry – TBC. The Eastern has a line-up consisting of Swamp Moth, A Gazillion Angry Mexicans

cause. She’s also been on line-ups at venues like The Music Man Megastore and the Golden Vine.

She performs as a solo acoustic artist and a member of a duo with a friend – at times taking songs by those artists she cites as important to her and giving them a gentler feel – and she was also part of a group that came up trumps at Catholic College Bendigo’s Battle of the Bands with a version of ‘Civil War’. One of the other members of that band was Varner’s (slightly) older brother, Jayden, who plays drums for local hard rock/metal outfit Path of Destruction.

Along with Varner’s contemporaries not liking the same music she does, they also seem to think that being friends with one’s sibling’s a bit weird. “Music makes us really close and pretty good friends,” she says, “but everyone (is) like, ‘You’re friends with your brother’?” Regardless of the attitudes of other teenagers, she cites her brother as a musical influence.

A part of Varner’s pragmatic attitude about the music business and what she has to do to succeed in it is her understanding that she’s got time to hone her songwriting skills. “I do write,” she says “(but) you’re always very self-conscious of your own songs so I’m progressively getting more into it more and more. But just for now I’m doing a lot of covers just to get out and get the experience.”

At the time of interview, Varner was looking forward to playing her first gig in Melbourne in support of glam rockers, Sisters Doll. Meanwhile, she’s also working with YO Bendigo, an undertaking that organises gigs for young performers.

and Twin Ages. For some rock, roll on down to The Eastern and enjoy.

Entry – TBC. The Main Bar has Bootleg Stroll and Skip Sail playing to their audience this night.

So for a two-course serve of two-piece bands and possibly a two-course meal if you’re peckish and have the dollars, hit The Main Bar. Entry – $10.

Thursday, June 19th Karova has Dune Rats playing tunes, supported by local group Bel Air. Entry – $15.

Friday, June 20th Babushka Bar has solo artist Dave Savage playing. Entry – TBC. Karova Lounge has Northeast Party House rocking the... house?!

With support from Flamingo and Savannah Riot. Entry – $12.

Saturday, June 21st The

Eastern has a bunch of rocking acts. Vinegar Hill, 80 Hundred and Wolf Ticket are booked to rock the night away and hopefully leave the neighbours undisturbed. Entry – TBC. The Main Bar has Just Add Moonshine playing. Entry – $10.

Well, so concludes our update this fortnight.

Remember, every Thursday is Open Mic at The Eastern with the Adam Carrol opening the night and breaking the silence for others willing to get up and have a go. Also, The Eastern has FREE live music Sunday afternoons; and same days, over at Babushka Bar, is open mic, comedy or music jamming. So if you’re an artist in the previously mentioned arts get to a venue of your choosing and try it out on stage.

Hard-Ons

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Fun4Kids Festival As Dr. Seuss wrote – ‘A person’s a person, no matter how small’. There is a joy found in children that is so free that it is utterly infectious. Plus, they are the coolest toys you could have. They don’t even need batteries. So why shouldn’t kids have a festival just to themselves?

Fun4Kids Festival is Australia’s best children’s festival. 2014’s event is an eight day ripper featuring 15 zones of kids’ entertainment and activities.

Taking place inside a purpose-built 2.5 acre indoor village, Fun4Kids was originally designed to provide regional children with an arts, entertainment and educational resource that they may otherwise have been unable to experience. It now stands as Australia’s premium family tourism event, winning several awards and induction into both the Victorian and Australian Tourism Hall of Fame. That’s the business; now let’s have a look at the fun.

The 15 zones include the Telstra Festival Hall.

This is where great live music takes place every day of the festival. In 2014, MC’s Scott Tweedie and Liv Phyland will introduce musical acts including Taylor Henderson, Justice Crew and Justine Clarke.

Kids are known to get a little messy in the kitchen, so Coles Kids Kitchen is perfect. Combining handson cooking, eating and learning, the little ones will have a blast while learning a few handy skills. The Discovery Hub is where science, learning and fun collide. Make your own lava lamp or design your own marble run. Sungold Busy Bodies is like a reallife videogame adventure. The little ones can take in the junior commando assault course or try their hand at a new sport. And that is just four zones!

There is never any trouble booking performers for Fun4Kids and in 2014 you have a line-up that will make your kids scream with delight – that lovely, piercing scream of joy. Featured performers include Taylor Henderson, Jai Waetford, Justice Crew, What About Tonight, Justine Clarke, Peppa Pig, Sam Moran, Dora the Explorer, Zimboyz, Mr. Spin, Go, Diego, Go, Dorothy the Dinosaur and Justine Sane.

If the feedback on Twitter is anything to go by, the announcement of Taylor Henderson caused Beatles-like delirium among the youngsters. We got to know Taylor through his appearances on Australia’s Got Talent and The X Factor. His debut single, ‘Borrow My Heart’, and debut self-titled album both debuted at the #1 position on the ARIA Charts.

Is it science? Is it circus? Actually, it’s the best of both worlds. It’s Not Circus, It’s Science is a show full of acrobatics, clowning, physics and neuroscience. Professor Wild and Professor Barnard will thrill you as they teach you about force and pressure, create a sonic boom and tweak your neural pathways.

Tom Flanagan is behind Kaput, a show that combines chaos, comedy and acrobatics. A live tribute to the slapstick comedy of the silent movie era, Kaput follows a young silent movie projectionist whose seemingly uncomplicated goal of projecting a movie is complicated by a temperamental projector.

The Fun4Kids Festival takes place in Warrnambool and kicks off on the first week of the winter school holidays – Sunday, June 29 through Sunday, July 6. Festival doors open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Tickets can be purchased as single passes or as an eight-day pass. For further information please visit fun4kids.com.au. Make sure you play Warrnambool Whale while you’re there

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Can play a range of styles from Rock, Blues, Jazz & Funk. Please

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for original punk rock band around Ballarat. Influences include NOFX, The Offspring, Millencolin and AC/DC. If you enjoy jumping around and making noise phone 0417566478 Lead Guitarist with Vocal Ability wanted

for a 70’s/80’s Cover Band. Age: 30 -35++. must be reliable. Gigs waiting. Contact Phil: 0410465634 or 0352758691 Guitarist & Keyboard Player Wanted for pop/

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forte 31

Battle of the Bands with Residual Written by Tex Miller

If throwing television sets out of hotel windows and playing to thousands of people each night seems like a charmed life to you, then tune up that guitar and get out of your bedroom because the Courthouse ARTS’ Battle of the Bands is coming back to town and is happening on Thursday, August 7.

Although there are no televisions to be thrown out of the Courthouse’s window, you will have a cracker crowd to play to. Last year’s winner, Residual, officially formed for the battle despite jamming together ideas for songs twelve months beforehand. Since then the band has gone on to national touring and sold-out shows at Beav’s Bar and is getting ready to release their debut EP in the next couple of months. Josh Carter from the band caught up with me recently to chat about the big exposure opportunities and benefits of entering.

Having recently just wrapped up touring in Adelaide, Warrnambool, Sydney and the Gold Coast, Residual are now realising about where the band could develop to in the future. Given the opportunity to play shows throughout Australia

Eddi Reader

has allowed the band to gain valuable playing experience in different climates and gain a whole new bunch of fans.

“It’s crazy to have played all these shows and realise what is out there for us and how it is to be a touring band, especially us as we are so young.

We have been really lucky to have the opportunity to play as many gigs as we have so far and we thank everyone that has helped us along the way. The best gig of the tour, I think, was the Beav’s Bar hometown show. We managed to sell out the venue before the main support which we were really excited about.”

Their latest single, if you haven’t heard, is called ‘Numbered’ and has been doing massive circles on social media lately. Additionally, Sam Burtt, lead vocalist for the group, recently played an acoustic version for Nature Sessions, so be sure to check that out on the Forte website. Although the process for the upcoming EP was “quite rushed”, the band is starting work on their new EP and getting back into songwriting mode.

When&Where: Courthouse ARTS – August 7

“We’ve just got back into writing again and things are starting to sound really good. We thought if we could get ahead on the next release that would be a big advantage. Hopefully we can land a few more support slots because I know how much playing that British India show helped us prepare for our tour.”

Forming for the Battle of the Bands, playing shows and touring was never really a goal for the band as the boys originally just wanted to share their love of music with each other. “I think after writing some songs and getting a tight set together we really started to gain some momentum. We had a show planned

a couple of weeks after the battle and thought we would use the Courthouse show as a practice. No way did we expect to win but it was a nice confirmation to see that what we had was great.”

The Battle of the Bands, though, as Josh relates, is more than just playing a 20-minute set of songs. “You network with other musicians and meet like-minded people. If you get to the next stage you get a taste of what touring can be like. If you’re still unsure about entering, do it, give it a crack, and remember if it happens to you like it happened to us, you won’t regret the decision at all.”

When&Where: Roo Twilights @ Anglesea Golf Club, Anglesea - June 21 & The Karingal Appeal @ GPAC - June 25

Q&A

The acoustic pop memories of Fairground Attraction must seem like a lifetime ago for songwoman Eddi Reader. It was a touch over 25 years ago when the band released mega single ‘Perfect’. Since then, Reader has been a strong solo artist, releasing her tenth album, Vagabond, early this year.

Hey Eddi, thanks for taking the time to have a quick (email) chat with Forte Magazine. Where are you as we speak?

Hello! Thanks for talking to me about my new album. I am in my home in Glasgow, Scotland.

Briefly take us back to the start. Being from Glasgow, what role did music play in your upbringing?

Music made the evening happen. I come from a very lively partying bunch of aunties and uncles. I was brought up in Glasgow and house parties were a constant – birthdays, christenings, weddings, New Year, Christmas, emigration, returning. I can’t remember a month going by without some kind of sing-song night of revelry.

You travelled a lot, some would say you were a bit of a ‘Vagabond’, and you spent a lot of time in London before returning home. Can you tell us how your journey progressed in those early years?

When I was 17 I left school and ventured into my local folk music club. From there I met like-minded musicians who taught me more guitar and songs than I had learned at my family parties. I also had a cousin whose husband, Alan Stobo, played country rock music

in bars for fun; he taught me tunings on the guitar when I was 11. But those strangers I met in the folk scene took me busking and in every situation there would be other ideas about where to go to play.

Eventually four of us travelled to Paris and the South of France to busk.

We met LOADS of travelling musicians and street performers, so we formed a little collective. Ate together every evening after singing songs and entertaining crowds of tourists. It was a great apprenticeship for me as a musician – many adventures and different towns in Europe. I never had one bad experience.

Songs got me my dinner, places to stay, lifelong friendships.

I came home one winter, after a year and a half away. I needed a bath.

I got a factory job but got bored so went to London where soon I was singing with Annie Lennox, The Gang of Four, The Waterboys etc. I am on a million singles from obscure bands in the eighties, all before I formed Fairground Attraction.

You have released many albums, including several live albums. What album release do you feel symbolises your rise to being a “well-known” artist? When do you feel that breakthrough came?

First off, A Million Kisses by my band

Fairground Attraction was the first big selling album I was involved with. I had been looking for a style similar to Edith Piaf and some of the jazz country 1940s songs I was obsessive about. I was very honoured to have found Mark Nevin who played me some songs he had written after I played and translated all my Edith Piaf collection. He was in love with New Orleans and wanted similar things from music, so both of us embarked on an adventure as a band. It was successful.

In terms of style of music, you are obviously passionate about folk music.

Where do you think your passion for storytelling in music came from?

I enjoy anything that allows a human to get lost in their mind a bit. It’s a great way to drop the constant ‘story’ in your head. If you have a musical ability or a poetic ability, you see the world as a movie – funny, sad, dramatic, full of love, full of sorrow. I enjoy unravelling the knots through playing and reliving the movie in my head.

You have worked with numerous artists over the years. Is there one who is particularly special to you?

All have taught me so much. Boo Hewerdine is special to me because he is very sympathetic to my mood. I meet

new people all the time … Steve Hamilton on this album blew me away with his piano playing.

I love singing with my mum and aunties at parties best of all. The ones that are still with me in this short life still thrill me with the songs they sing.

You have recently released Vagabond. Can you tell us about the record – where was it recorded and how did it take shape after having a lay off from 2009?

I bought a piano for my husband John Douglas and I found I was sitting at it and making up stuff. I began to pull some ideas together and it became time to record. I was shocked to notice four years had gone by. Time and me are alien to each other. I wouldn’t thank anyone for buying me a watch. Never liked them.

Something about something owning you or

dictating when you have to do anything annoys me, especially with music. That’s a diva that dances when it wants to.

You are coming to Australia soon and you will be passing through Forte country to do a few shows. Are you excited about coming Down Under?

Yes. I have a very particular experience with Australian audiences. It’s like an old family party who’ve missed me for centuries. Singing to people who are five or sixteen generations away from coming from Scotland/England/Ireland/Wales feels like a reunion.

Is it your first time?

No, I have been playing in Australia now for 16 years I think.

The Anglesea Golf Club is known for its kangaroos. Have you ever played to 100 kangaroos before?

No, but they scare the shit out of me.

Very charismatic animal … like horses standing on two legs.

What sort of setlist do you have in store for your fans out here?

Old, new, some I don’t know yet. I like to be spontaneous. I take requests on Twitter, although I might not sing them. It’s all about the atmosphere on the night – like those old Glasgow house parties, you never know what someone will sing next.

Anything you would like to add?

All the very best. It’s been a blessing to talk about the trip over. I’m getting more and more excited. Thank you. x

The Band Who Knew Too Much Written by Tex Miller

It’s been seven years, seven long years, but finally in 2014 we should be getting the long-awaited fifth album from Melbourne’s own The Band Who Knew Too Much (TBWKTM). From busking on the streets of St Kilda to playing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the band has taken in a lot of miles over the last twentyfive years. I recently got the opportunity to sit down with Dave Evans, accordionist and vocalist for the group, to have a retrospective chat at their illusive career so far and to find out what the future holds.

Over their career, the band has built a strong following throughout Scandinavia and tours biannually throughout Europe. Although the crowds and reaction to the music isn’t that far removed from Australian audiences, there’s nothing better than playing at a European music festival, as Evans relates. “It’s fairly similar I think, but I do believe that the Scandinavians are very enthusiastic. We go over there for their summer and because their summer is so short they put a lot of energy into enjoying it.

The festival circuit goes off over there and we’ve played many great gigs. There are tour stories, but they are best left on the road I think,” Evans said.

Dubbed as the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion, Evans has always had a love for the instrument.

32 forte

Growing up in a musical household, it was inevitable that Evans’ career would be in music. “My father used to sing and my mother played piano. She wanted us all to learn an instrument and I had a choice between piano, guitar or an accordion. At the age of seven, I picked up the accordion.

To this day I don’t really know what initially attracted me to it. I think that it is one out of the box. How many accordions do you see at a gig?”

In the early days of TBWKTM, none of the members thought that they would be celebrating twenty-five years together.

Not to say that they would think about breaking up, yet it’s still a bit of a surprise.

“We all get along pretty well in the band and the playing is very enjoyable. We never thought we would be celebrating such a milestone, but it’s not hard to keep playing. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were celebrating fifty years down the road. We all love it so much and there is definitely no sign of stopping yet.”

The band is set to play at the Old Hepburn Hotel on the 22nd of June and Evans couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to

When&Where: Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs – June 22

head back out to the country. “I grew up in the country and so to an extent it is a little bit of a homecoming for me. We’ve been rehearsing and it’s sounding awesome. I like to get out of Melbourne any opportunity I get. It’s great to play your music in places you haven’t taken the band too much previously because there is an element of discovery for the audience.”

Not travelling to Europe this year, there is a very strong chance that we will hear a new record from the band by Christmas time.

The process is set to be similar to their previous recordings, and although it won’t feature any Christmas carols, it will be great to hear yet another release from The Band Who Knew Too Much. In the meantime, head out to hear their new tunes in the live format.

Forte Columns

pulp Written by Cameron Urquhart and Alastair McGibbon

too heavy to hug Written by Paul S Taylor

Here’s something out of the all-ordinaries. A recent report

by City Lab has suggested that countries with higher wealth also have more metal bands per 100,000 residents. Basically, the stronger the country’s economy, the more metal bands reside within that country.

Unsurprisingly, Scandinavia has the highest concentration of metal bands per 100,000 residents and also boasts a high level of “relative wealth, robust social safety nets and incredibly high quality of life”. Australia, North America and the rest of AngloEurope all have roughly the same amount of metal bands per 100,000 and share similar economies.

The City Lab report also quotes an article by Mark Ames, who hammers home the point by saying metal’s greatest popularity is found in “the most advanced, most tolerant and knowledgebased places in the world”.

But what does it really mean when a well-off country begins spawning loud, abrasive, exciting, intelligent and pissed off metal bands? Through the eyes of the global community, metal bands could be seen as the little whingeing and whining children of well-to-do parents; spoilt brats that have been raised in relatively cushy environments who have too much time and money to do anything except whinge and whine loudly.

Perhaps these little children didn’t like being lied to and didn’t like the hypocrisy of their government parents. Perhaps they didn’t like their intelligence undermined, didn’t enjoy being lied to and not being told the whole story or just being made to listen to shallow stories by their parents’ nanny, the media, at bedtime.

Perhaps the countless rules and regulations and red tape erected by their government parents has made their lives too safe and too mundane that any excitement or risk has been completely sucked out of everything they do. Perhaps these little children have learnt enough and can now see that the house they grew up in isn’t the paradise they were told it was.

Whilst most of Africa is reported to have zero metal bands per 100,000 people, and most of Asia and the Middle East has very few metal bands per 100,000, it’s hard to determine if that figure is based entirely on the economical factors or cultural factors.

In other news…

Sydney metallers As Silence Breaks shall henceforth be known as Daemon Pyre and will release their self-titled album later this year.

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

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

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 and for a licensed show at the Evelyn Hotel on Saturday, July 26.

Opeth will release their new album Pale Communion on Tuesday, August 26.

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.

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

Blue Eyes Cry

The blues is often seen as a resort of the older person, preferably with a black t-shirt and Harley Davidson. In my last column I talked about the origin of the blues in work songs decades ago in the south of the USA. There’s actually a large number of younger people getting into the blues, often as a result of participating in the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’s ‘Youth in Blues’ program, or our local ‘Blues Boot Camp’ organised

by Wayne Jury and with a high quality set of mentors including Chris Wilson, Tim Neal, Sarah Carroll, Sandy Brady, Dave Steel and David Park. Recently, one such graduate, Jarrod Shaw, was a headliner at Sleepy Hollow.

Blue Eyes Cry is such an amazingly accomplished young band. Fronted by a brilliant voice in Iseula Hingano, and backed by her partner, Nathan Brett (guitar), with Stuart Prendergast (bass) and Cameron Smith (drums).

They originally started as a trio on the North Coast of NSW at Woolgoolga and linked up with Stuart when they moved to Melbourne, using their winnings from first prize in a local talent competition to fund the move.

Their influences run the gamut of the modern blues scene – Robert Cray, Eva Cassidy, Robin Trower, through to soul artists such as Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway etc. Blue Eyes Cry perform at premier music festivals and venues around Australia including Blues on Broadbeach, Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Gympie Muster, Australian Blues Music Festival, Apollo Bay Festival, Blues at Bridgetown, Echuca Winter Blues and many more. The best irony of all this is that on their tour last year, they were hailed in Maroochydore as a “Melbourne band!”

Iseula spent a few years in London where she absorbed as much as she could about the music business in one of the most competitive environments in the world. In 2013 Ise was awarded the ‘Female Artist of the Year’ at the VIC/TAS Blues Awards.

Blues Eyes Cry have grabbed the attention of local blues fans and organisations, including Sleepy Hollow Blues Club, the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society, Hugo Armstrong of the Blues Train and John Durr of Black Market Music. This year they took out two Chain (Australian Blues Music) Awards – ‘Best New Talent’ and ‘Song of the Year’ for the title track of their new album. When you think about it that is a pretty impressive list of achievements for a young band.

The blues is safely in the hands of the younger set these days, as much as any other genre.

Why not get out and about and find some of the younger talent that is on offer? At Martians Café they have a number coming up soon – Alana and Alicia, Benny Walker and Shaun Kirk.

Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues has Tex Miller and Jessey Jackson regularly. You can also check out Saints and Sailors in Portarlington, Sandbar at Torquay and the Piping Hot Chicken Shop in Ocean Grove as regularly having young bands as well as seasoned artists.

While we’re at it, Blue Eyes Cry’s debut album Sleeping Alone has some killer tracks on it and is well worth getting hold of, in stores, on CD or through iTunes.

Oh, and I do have quite a few black shirts, but never rode a Harley. Yamaha Nomad was the last I had! blueeyescry.com

Cameron: Filled to the brim with the excitement of a new X-Men movie and also wanting to take my mind off Bryan Singer being a terrible person (allegedly), I decided to finally getting around to checking out its source material. For years I’d been aware that Days of Future Past was considered one of the great X-Men storylines, so I could barely contain myself when picking up a trade while visiting America.

The Future Past storyline, it turns out, is only two issues in length, with the rest of the trade being filled with Nightcrawler visiting the nine circles of Hell and also some other stories that weren’t very memorable. But hey, I thought, even if the DoFP story is a little shorter than I expected, it’s still meant to be incredible. Then I read it. It’s okay.

Unpopular opinion time: the concept itself is interesting, dystopian futures and time travel generally are, but Chris Claremont is a hack.

Claremont staked his claim on the X-Men franchise and wrote what many consider to be the definitive X-Men stories. Personally, I think he’s not very good at writing. I picked up the first issue of Nightcrawler the other day, and it’s equally apparent now as it should have been then: his writing is pretty subpar.

Of course reviews are entirely subjective, and I happen to know some people who love his writing, but personally this book was a real struggle. I still have high hopes for the film (Singer’s squickyness notwithstanding), but if it’s put you in the mood for some solid X-Men, maybe pick up Joss Whedon’s Astonishing run instead.

Alastair: Another column, another Image Comics title. This really is becoming a trend, isn’t it?

Evidently I gotta find me some new comics! Now, on to this week’s book…

I’ll be straight with you guys – I really, really don’t know how to feel about East of West. It’s one of the stranger comics I’ve read recently, and

Punk!

Written by Christopher Cruz

Pennywise will issue a collection of older songs written by their original bass player and chief songwriter, Jason Thirsk. Titled Yesterdays, it will feature lead single ‘Violence Never Ends’.

Should be a very interesting listen.

Melbourne punk rockers Strawberry Fist Cake and Canadians Rehab for Quitters venture into Forteville for a MASSIVE show at the Music Man Megastore on Friday, June 13 to promote their brand new albums.

How massive, you ask? Well, they’ll be joined by No Idea, Australian Kingswood Factory, the Revengers and Rabid Zulu! Yowsa! The bands then play IdiotFest at the Brunswick Hotel the very next day, alongside the likes of Foxtrot, Muscle Mary, Admiral Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge, Kmart Warriors, The Murderballs and Shadow League!

Tiger Army have started writing for their next record, which will tentatively be released next year.

Avril Lavigne, the self-appointed princess of punk rock (IKR, WTF?!), has become an even bigger twat than

even though I’ve read the first trade several times over, I’m still not 100 per cent sure that I like it. It strikes me as one of those books that will pay off over a long period of time – a slow burn, if you will – but for the time being, it’s a little off-putting.

Written by Jonathan Hickman (Avengers, FF), East of West follows Death (of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, no less) as he rampages across an alternate America seeking revenge for past betrayals. His first target?

The President of the United States. As he rampages across the high-tech wasteland in search of vengeance, he is shadowed by his fellow Horsemen – who are also on his list, and taking the form of children for reasons as yet unknown. As he continues on his journey, he begins to unravel the machinations of the ‘Chosen’, the ones who will bring about the end of the world, and serve his former companions.

East of West reminds me a fair bit of Garth Ennis’ Preacher – Death could easily fill in for the Saint of Killers, and vice versa – only lacking its trademark humour. The gore is still there – there’s plenty of that – but it doesn’t just have the charm that made Preacher so damn appealing.

That’s not to say that East of West isn’t a good book, though – Nick Dragotta’s (X-Statix, FF) art is pretty awesome and fits the story perfectly. Overall, though, the book seems like it needs more development. It’s worth a read, particularly if sci-fi/westerns are your thing. A bit on the ‘meh’ side, but it’s growing on me. we’re used to. It seems you can buy meet and greet packages on her current US tour – only you can’t stand near her, even for a photo. Seriously? Die. What a waste of time and money. She should be grateful to have a career at all, ESPECIALLY after marrying that douche from Nickelback.

Speaking of total tools, Justin Bieber has been busted using the ‘N’ word in public, and it wasn’t in jest. Not that THAT would make it any better. But will there even be a backlash? Can pop twits like him get away with things like this? It certainly wouldn’t be tolerated in punk rock circles. Despite our reputations, we’re actually pretty decent people who wouldn’t stand for shit like this. Maybe we need to ban try-hard, manufactured pop twinks!

Cabin Fever, Hopes Abandoned, Bottlecaps and Postscript are teaming up for a corker of a show on Thursday, June 26 at The Rev (Reverence Hotel, Footscray). It’s not too far from Forte territory, so make the trip!

John Lydon of Sex Pistols fame was all set to star as King Herod in the travelling musical production Jesus Christ Superstar when the plug was (thankfully) pulled. Also set to star in the now-canned arena spectacular were JC Chasez (N*Sync), Brandon Boyd (Incubus) and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child (one of the chicks that wasn’t Beyoncé). Oh my! I probably would have gone along for shits and giggles alone!

Queen, touring with American Idol alumnus Lambert? Conflicted.

Could be awesome, could also be balls.

Did they ever think to call on George Michael? Now THAT would have been magic!

And on THAT weird note, I’m OUTTA here for another issue – but I’ll be back before ya know it!

le monde entier Written by Madelin Baldwin lemondeentier.net

Croatia sailing, Turkey sailing, Greek island sailing – all of these are incredibly popular right now and conjure up images of clear, glass-like aqua water, wearing a glamorous broad-brimmed hat with a bow whilst drinking a glass of wine, and awesome parties with a bunch of new friends. And whilst all of these images are rightly so, there are also a few more things to consider, like the fact that depending on which trip you choose you’ll be spending between 60-100 per cent of your time completely out in the middle of the ocean, warm water is sparing, weather is unpredictable and the toilet and shower conditions can be much, much different to what you’re used to!

Here are a few tips and observations I have come up with, having done Turkey, Croatia and Whitsundays – three completely different ways to sail.

• Where possible, upgrade to a ‘my own room’ option. I know it sounds pretentious, but if you’re lucky enough to have an ensuite, it will literally be the size of about three of you. The rooms are not huge, unless you’re incredibly rich and on a huge-ass yacht with old English retirees.

Those boats are incredible, and probably cost my year’s wage.

• When you don’t feel like drinking at night and need some alone time, having your own room to escape to is a little creature comfort out at sea, and while it may not be an option for everyone, I found it helps if you can. Unless of course you’re with a friend or lover, then you’ll be fine!

• Halve the clothes you’ve packed. You seriously will not need what you think you need – trust me. Make sure you have a few dresses, a pair of shorts, a jumper, pyjamas and some t-shirts.

• Things to pack: a power adaptor and chargers, your own towel (usually provided, but quite small), a few pairs of bathers, comfortable walking shoes, baby wipes, a jumper/hoodie (especially for the off-season – even if it hits 35+ during the day, it gets cold from 6-7 p.m. onwards), toiletries including soap, shampoo and conditioner (your hair will take a beating) and sunscreen! And, of course, the one thing I always forget – a toothbrush.

• Travel before or after peak season, while the weather is still nice but there are less people. The towns along the way are small, and so much better to check out with a smaller group of people and not thousands doing the same thing.

June/July in Europe is peak, so travel in May/August/September is best. It makes the towns so much nicer when you’re listening to the actual language of the country, instead of English the whole time!

• Most of all, have an awesome time and be open-minded that the living situation might be primitive, but you’ll have the absolute best time! There is nothing quite like waking up and your boat is already steaming across the middle of an ocean or sea, far away from home, with the most breathtaking backdrops of mountains, islands and more. You’ll meet the most amazing bunch of people, from the others on the trip, to the onboard crew.

pop culture!

Written by Anthony Morris

So it looks like the ABC’s attempt to revive Spicks and Specks is over. According to various reports, not only will the ABC be pulling the show after airing 20 of the 26 episodes – the remaining six will air later in the year, which is usually code for “the non-ratings period” – but the ABC has also confirmed that “there aren’t plans for the show in 2015”.

While this is slightly sadder news than the usual demise of an ABC panel show – unlike both Randling and Tractor Monkeys, the revived Spicks and Specks was occasionally actually entertaining – this wasn’t exactly difficult to see coming.

In May alone, the four episodes on ABC1 averaged 415,000 viewers, with a peak of 490,000 and 20th place overall in the ratings on May 21, while the low point was May 28th, when it was 29th with 331,000 viewers. So now we know: if you can’t pull in half a million viewers on a Wednesday night, you’re heading for the door. Unless you’re Jonah from Tonga, of course, which has repeatedly rated the same or worse but at only six episodes long probably wasn’t worth the trouble of rescheduling.

The real question now is, ‘What is the ABC going to do about replacing it?’ (No one answer “more old episodes of QI”.) Outside of a handful of increasingly old-looking programs – the Gruen series, whatever The Chaser feel like doing – it seems increasingly unlikely that the ABC will be able to come up with anything that will rate above the magic half-million mark on a Wednesday night.

The whole idea behind reviving Spicks and Specks, especially after all the talk that it would never work without the original cast, was that it would be a strong-rating program that would prop up the rest of the night. Without that kind of strong lead-in, everything else suffers – even if expecting anything like the big ratings from the good old days was crazy today, thanks to Ten actively programming shows on Wednesday nights like Offspring aimed at chipping away at the ABC’s comedy audience.

While the failure of Spicks and Specks 2.0 is disappointing, in large part because the ABC clearly have no tricks left when it comes to making a long-running, broadly popular panel show, and without one their overall comedy slate is going to struggle, it wouldn’t be a serious problem if it wasn’t just the latest of a long line of comedy failures from the ABC since 2011.

While they’ve had a few halfhearted successes since then, mostly involving Shaun Micallef (though Upper Middle Bogan and It’s a Date rated reasonably well, and Please Like Me was picked up by a US cable network), it was only a few years ago that Spicks and Specks was drawing in over a million viewers a week.

With those days gone and former comedy legend Chris Lilley now clearly yesterday’s news, there’s nothing there that the ABC can point to as anything approaching a mainstream comedy success.

Comedy is meant to be something the ABC does well. Good luck persuading audiences of that these days. forte 33

Refining the Palette

RENT

Presented by CentreStage Directed by Paul Watson

feature arts STORY Written by Sue Rawkins

In 1988, playwright Billy Aronson wanted to create a musical based on Puccini’s La Bohème, in which 1890s Paris would be replaced with the rawness and street vibe of 1990s New York. Jonathan Larson, a 29-year-old composer, began collaborating with Aronson on this project.

Larson’s inspiration for Rent’s characters and plot elements are drawn directly from La Bohème, the world premiere of which was in 1896, a century before Rent’s premiere in New York.

Tuberculosis, the plague of Puccini’s opera, is replaced

by HIV/AIDS in Rent.

Larson would not live to see Rent’s success; he died on January 25, 1996.

The first preview of Rent was cancelled and instead, friends and family gathered at the theatre where the actors performed a singthrough of Rent in Larson’s memory. The show premiered as planned and quickly gained popularity fuelled

by enthusiastic reviews and the recent death of its composer. It proved extremely successful during its off-Broadway run, selling out all its shows at the 150-seat New York Theater Workshop.

Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a cultural phenomenon with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages. It tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians in East Village, New York. During that year, or “five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes”, the group deals with love, loss, AIDS and modern day life, woven into a powerful and moving story.

This Geelong production has been created by CentreStage, a locally-based theatre company, in which the participants, actors and crew alike, are all volunteers. The talented Paul Watson, Director, has directed this show six times, as well as having directed more than 60 other amateur and professional shows. The amazing, dedicated cast are no strangers to

The cast of RENT

the Geelong stage and are excited and thrilled to be bringing this production to local audiences.

Major supporters of Rent include our Mayor, Darryn

Lyons, Paula Kontelj, Sophie and Dale, and Chantell and Steve (Blockheads!)

Profits from the show will be donated to GASP – a not-for-profit organization designed to help teenagers and adults come to terms and deal with their sexuality. Over the last five years, CentreStage has donated more than $80,000 to various charities including Relay For Life, St Laurence, Beyond Blue and Geelong Hospital.

So, “how do you measure a year in the life? How about love? Seasons of love.”

DO. NOT. MISS.

Seven Wonders Silent Film Festival Japanese Woodblock Printmaking Mokuhanga Workshop With Terry Mckenna

Dark Solace – Richard Szymczuk

This unique workshop is an exciting introduction to Japanese Mokuhanga printmaking.

Design - transfer your design to a wooden block. Carve - learn safe, ergonomic and effective carving techniques. Print - make a finished colour print from a wooden block. Course Materials - Please bring a set of carving tools (If not, tools will be available for purchase, cost $35). Japanese Shina plywood is supplied; a fine even-grained soft wood (slightly smaller than A4 size). All other materials supplied.

Since 1986, Richard Szymczuk has been documenting Geelong’s roadside vernacular. He photographs abandoned petrol stations, milkbars, shops, fading advertising signs, vacant old houses, etc. The passing traffic has forgotten these once busy and productive businesses, with the imminent reality of demolition being their fate. At night, these abandoned locations transform into places of dark melancholy and a sinister nature. Richard’s images are a mixture of dread and beauty, lit by the ambient light sources of streetlights, car lights, moonlight, or with flash.

WHERE: ETCH Gallery

WHERE: Quirk Collective

and Studios. 215 Moorabool Street, Geelong

Winter Harvest – Tiel Seivl-Keevers An exploration of the physical transitions of nature and the artist’s connection to her local environment. These works focus on the changes that occur throughout the season of Winter. Tiel Seivl-Keevers is a painter and illustrator with a background in design.

Her work evolves from her natural surroundings. Winter Harvest reflect the concepts of death, dormancy and new beginnings in nature.

Design & Space 85 Pakington Street, Geelong West

WHERE: Boom Gallery. 11

WHEN: 15 June & 22 June

WHEN: Until 6 July

WHEN: Until 14 June

INFO: etchgalleryandstudios.com

INFO: quirkgallery.com.au

INFO: boomgallery.com.au

Battle of Bannockburn

day including, pipe bands, Scottish highland and country dancing, a medieval village, a Viking village, archery, jousting, Scottish clans, the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment, vintage motorcycles and tractors, the military re-enactment group, Scottish games, live bands, over 100 craft and food stalls, children’s entertainment including clowns, face painting, jumping castles, games, animal farm as well as displays from our local emergency groups.

Saturday 21 June will kick off the weekend celebrations with a street parade in Bannockburn High Street, and free live music and displays for a couple of hours and will conclude with a free movie night at our new hall showing the movie Braveheart. Sunday 22 June will celebrate the 700th anniversary in a big way at the Bannockburn Golf Club. There will be an abundance of entertainment on the day including the showcase event - a re-enactment of the 1314 battle in period costume including armour and battle horses. In addition there will be a great variety of activities for the whole family throughout the 34 forte

Rutland Street, Newtown

WHERE: Bannockburn Golf

Club. Shelford-Bannockburn Road, Bannockburn WHEN: 21 & 22 June INFO: battleofbannockburn2014.

com.au

WHERE: GPAC, Geelong - June 27 to July 12 TIX: From GPAC 5225 1200 INFO: gpac.org.au

Come along to the Seven Wonders Silent Film Festival featuring silent films by aspiring and professional filmmakers, vloggers, YouTubers, artists, media students and school kids. All films are 100% silent and under seven minutes long, with the festival theme being ‘Seven’ including; “Seven days, hours or moments in your life, your story told in seven minutes, is the number seven really lucky? Your seven favourite things about Geelong, seven awesome things

you can do that nobody else can....

Short-listed films are screening from 16 May – 27 July at the National Wool Museum. Visitors have the opportunity to vote on and select the People’s Choice Award. View all the films online at our National Wool Museum Playlist on YouTube.

WHERE: National Wool Museum.

26 Moorabool Street, Geelong WHEN: Until 27 July INFO: nwm.vic.gov.au

Managing Carmen Brent Lyall is at the top of his game: captain of the footy team, with two Brownlows and a beautiful girlfriend... but he has a penchant for designer dresses and his alter ego ‘Carmen’ is about to go public. Acclaimed Australian playwright and National Living Treasure David Williamson delivers another hilarious football story – this time, with a twist. In spectacular form, Managing Carmen takes a satirical look at the characters behind the nation’s favourite sport: greedy sports managers, champion footballers, bimbo girlfriends and notorious tabloid writers.

WHERE: Her Majesty’s Theatre.

17 Lydiard Street, South Ballarat WHEN: 18 June. 7.30pm PHONE: 5333 5888 NFO: hermaj.com

Talbot Farmers’ Market Set in the beautiful heritage precinct of Talbot, the Farmer’s Market is just 40 minutes north of Ballarat. It was one of regional Victoria’s earliest farmers’ markets, beginning in 2004 and remains proudly communitybased. It draws over 2000 visitors to town each month. Featuring a display of more than 80 stalls of regional

produce including seasonal fruit and vegetables, organic produce, freshly baked bread, gourmet cheese and meats, local wines, organic oils, artisan and gourmet delicacies, livestock, plants, live music and much more.

WHERE: Scandinavian

Crescent, Talbot

WHEN: 15 June. 9am-1pm INFO: talbottourism.org

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forte 35

Nathan Seeckts and the Dead City Lights Written by Natalie Rogers

“If I’m up there singing about someone losing their job and nobody’s buying it, then why am I doing it?” asked Forte favourite and local musician Nathan Seeckts. “If I don’t believe in what I’m singing, how the hell is anyone else that’s watching or listening going to? That’s a thought constantly in the back of my head.”

Nathan is a natural born storyteller inspired by the likes of Bob Seeger, Tom Waits and The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. “These tales come from where I live, the place I call home…” As a Geelong native, his lyrics echo themes felt by all in the community – pride, love, loss, hope and resilience.

Music has been an important part of Nathan’s life for as long as he can remember: “I’ve been playing in bands since high school; shitty high school bands, that sort of thing,” he said with a laugh. “Then in my early twenties I played in a few punk bands, and the last four years I’ve been doing solo stuff.”

Having built up a solid following on his own back, Nathan decided it was time for a change.

So he put down his beloved acoustic guitar, picked up an electric and called on a few mates.

“I managed to rope a few guys into playing with me,” he joked, “and let me tell you, they’re really bloody good at what they do! But I always knew

that, and we work so well together.”

Introducing the Dead City Lights – all established and talented musos in their own right, they are: guitarist Chris Black (who can also be heard on Nathan’s latest EP Oceans of Women and Wine); Steve Dunning on bass; and fellow Geelong resident drummer Mike McLeod. “It’s been a really quick transition. We’ve only been jamming together since March this year, but I couldn’t be happier.

Nathan Seeckts and the Dead City Lights have a few shows on the horizon, but their first ever official gig is at The Barwon Club tomorrow night.

“We’re planning to possibly do a live recording at this, our first ever gig.”

In a night of firsts, the setlist will feature two songs he wrote specifically for the Dead City Lights on electric guitar, as well as tracks from his previous solo EPs (Oceans of Women and Wine, Deviation Road and Demolition) played with the grunt and power of a full band behind them. Also on the bill this Friday the 13th is local lad, singer songwriter

When&Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 13

Jordan Riddle, and folk punk three-piece, Fear Like Us. So don’t miss the chance to support these incredible local acts – and while being entertained you can also do your part by supporting a local not-for-profit organisation. This was taken from Nathan Seeckts and the Dead City Lights’ Facebook page: “At our Barwon Club show, we’re going to have a collection

tin on the door to try and raise some money for Cottage by the Sea Queenscliff. This amazing charity aims to empower disadvantaged children, by supporting them in developing their self-esteem, health and well-being. Stop past the desk, spare some money and take a look at some of the amazing work that they do.” – Nath, Mark, Chris and Steve.

Fraser A gorman Q&A

Hey Fraser, thanks for takingt he time to talk to Forte Magazine - lets get into it. You have a very unique sound that not many other acts have at the moment, who or what has influenced your sound?

I guess influence on songwriting and making records comes from countless things, eg. the people who are around you and who you are making the records with, the gear you are using, the various relationships you have with people at the time etc.

As far as musical influence I’ve been listening to a lot of Dylan, Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt and Lou Reed....... have been for quite a few years now.

It’s truly a style that tells a story, is that something you focus on while writing?

When i was really young, like 8 or 9 my mum used to book me in for singing lessons. That was where i sort of found out that i loved music (and singing). My teacher told me that “if you are going to write a song, you’ve got to tell a story”.

It doesn’t have to exactly be a lineal story with a beginning, middle and end, but it’s good to at least say ‘something’ in the song you are writing i think.

When I’m writing lyrics i still often sit back and ask myself “what exactly am i trying to say here” and do often think about narrative in some way, shape or form. So yeah, i guess I do focus on it a bit.

You’ve recently released the single ‘Book of Love’, how has the response been to it and are you happy with the response so far?

Yeah it’s been a great response, It’s sort of a bit of a different direction to the music i have previously

released and people seem to be pretty into it, so hopefully they like the new record I’m going to put out soon.

You star in the video for ‘Book of Love’ alongside a chicken, how did the chicken end up in the video?

The video was directed by my friend, Sunny Leunig, and i have chickens at my house, and i think we were just hanging out near the chicken coop and one thing led to another...

When is the album out and what can people expect from it?

It doesn’t have a release date but i hope to get it out in about 3 months or so........

As i mentioned earlier, it does steer away from my previous “country leaning” tunes but not too far away that people will freak out i don’t think. I guess people might have to wait and see for themselves.

You’re playing the Reclink Cup – are you excited about that?

Yeah I’m really excited, I’ve been going to the event for a few years now and i absolutely love it. I played in the actual footy game last year which was really fun. I’m even more excited to play on the stage though, i feel a lot more comfortable onstage with a guitar in my hand than I do running after a football.....

You have played a lot of events and

When&Where: 2014 Reclink Community Cup, Elsternwick Park - June 22

festivals, but how does it feel to be playing the Reclink Cup, which is such a unique and positive event?

I guess it’s a very important and highly valued day for the Melbourne music community, so being asked to

play at such highly regarded event is a nice feeling.

You have links to a number of other musicians and groups, but you have some strong connections to King Gizzard and The Murlocs. How does it feel that you are

all making such a big impact on the Melbourne music scene?

Yeah it is a good feeling, myself and all those boys grew up together in the areas in and around Geelong and all came together playing gigs at the National Hotel (in Geelong). I’ve been playing music in various bands with Stu Mackenzie (KGLW) for nearly 10 years, and I’ve been mates with most of others for just as long, if not longer.

It is cool to see all of us sort of grow into the musicians we are today and see everyone experience a bit of success.

Who knows whats going to happen in the future? Maybe we might keep playing better gigs and making good records or maybe we might grow up and get real jobs i don’t know...

You achieved a lot in the past few years, what goals do you have now for the future?

When i was in school my two goals in music were to play at Meredith and support You Am I and after that i could quit and be happy. Now that I’ve done that, I’m not sure what goals I have..... It would be make to have a record that is well received and play some shows overseas..... So I guess that is next on the list.

What else have you got planned for the rest of 2014?

Put out my debut record. Play some more good shows. Have a good time doing it.

Jeff Lang Written by Natalie Rogers

“I’m not going to put on a Nina Simone record and think ‘man, I kick ass!’ I’d be a real jerk if I did that! Or I’d be very deluded!” Jeff joked when asked about his secret to success. “I try to maintain a perspective on why I do what I do in the first place, and the simple answer is I fall in love with music and I just felt compelled to give it a go, you know?”

The humble multi-ARIA winner is back on the road this winter to promote his latest, and in my humble opinion, greatest release yet, I Live in My Head a Lot These Days (out now through ABC/Universal). “This tour so far has been fantastic. I’ve done the first few shows off in Adelaide, Fremantle and Ravenswood in WA. It’s been great, I’ve loved it. Over the next month and a half I’ll be everywhere!”

As he zigzags the country this month Jeff concedes he’s no stranger to the gypsy lifestyle that goes hand in hand with being a touring muso, but he freely admits these days he relishes the simple pleasures of family life. “I certainly look forward to playing shows, seeing new places and meeting new people, but having a family now I really enjoy being home. I wanna see my kids grow up. So these days when the time to tour comes up there’s always the feeling of ‘oh, I’m going to miss everyone,’” he said with a sigh, “but 36 forte

it’s all about balance. In my twenties, life on the road was very different. I was away all the time.”

Every bit the travelling troubadour, Jeff has called many places home before settling in Melbourne.

“Geelong is my old hometown, but I was in Sydney for a while and in Brisbane for a bit – although I lived in my van for longer!” he chuckled.

Loved at home and away, Jeff Lang is arguably one of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters. He has toured the globe, received critical acclaim and won numerous awards, but when asked about some of his most memorable moments, one springs to mind immediately: “I opened for Bob Dylan! He’s a hero of mine and sets an immeasurably high standard. It’s a shame I’ll be away when he tours in August. You can never write Bob off !

“But I’ve found it doesn’t help to compare yourself to other artists, and I learnt long ago not to hang my sense of self-worth around whether I get an award or not because you’re setting yourself up for disappointment usually.

Though please don’t get me wrong, it’s not like awards mean nothing. I take

When&Where: Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs – July 6 Beav's Bar, Geelong - July 20 and The Main Bar, Ballarat - July 30

them as someone saying ‘good onya son, we think you’re doing good work!’ And that’s lovely to hear,” Jeff smiled.

Those who know him will tell you he is somewhat of a loveable larrikin, a title he embraces wholeheartedly. “I never take myself too seriously. Like my new album title suggests,

I hear all my thoughts all the time! And if you heard some of the shit that goes on in my head…,” Jeff replied cheekily.

“Seriously though, I’m looking forward to getting back and playing in my old stomping ground with my band and new songs. It’ll be really good fun!”

Inside Splinters

Written by Adem Ali

Kylie’s ‘Crystallize’ Kylie Minogue’s latest release – which ISN’T on her below average new album Kiss Me Once – is a gorgeous electro-ballad that makes us wonder what exactly went wrong with this current album that the sessions best recording doesn’t even make it on the final product.

THE SPLINTERS MIXTAPE LADY GAGA vs URSULA THE SEA WITCH

KYLIE SAYS ‘CRYSTALLIZE’ Kylie Minogue’s latest album, Kiss Me Once, is a bitter pill to swallow. The first album under the new management of Jay-Z’s RocNation is not exactly her greatest (and, in very fact, might just be her least favourable ever) and after hearing news a ‘Dance Kylie’ style album was recorded, then shelved, which was allegedly then followed by an ‘Indie Kylie’ style album being recorded, which too was also shelved, what has apparently happened here is the two sounds we most wanted Kylie to be doing were ditched for a collection of

bad judgement calls and terrible “executive producing” on Sia’s part.

Thankfully, something in the ‘Dance Kylie’ spirit has seen the light of day in the form of brilliant new single ‘Crystallize’. The song, which is being released as a charity single for cancer research, is a glittering electro-ballad. You know the kind, that ‘crying on the dance floor’ sound Kylie’s so darn good at. Stylistically it follows a similar sound-print to another of her classic singles, ‘The One’, but this is in no way a bad thing. In fact, ‘Crystallize’ is better than the entirety of LP Kiss Me Once, and is exactly the kind of damage control she should be doing.

In an unexpected turn of events, Lady Gaga had to postpone a Vancouver and Seattle date on her ArtRave: The ARTPOP Ball world tour last week after a serious case of bronchitis took its toll on the warbler’s voice. Taking to social media, Gaga proclaimed her voice had been stolen by Ursula the Sea Witch from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, but Splinters is more interested in knowing whether or not Gaga’s new puppy – Asia, the BatPig – is being kept in quarantine until the singer is at full health again. Somebody, please think of the puppy!

In all seriousness, though, the cute BatPig has taken social media by storm and has already garnered a number of parody accounts through all the regular internet platforms.

At time of print, Gaga herself was back on stage and performing her guts out on the ArtRave tour which is due to arrive in Australia midAugust. On a personal note, I hope Gags gets better and is basically at full health already, particularly so as I will be meeting and greeting with the Lady herself come August 24th! Regular readers will remember I was the first Australian writer to interview Lady Gaga, and later on in 2008, shortly after I conducted that interview with her, I got to meet her as well. It’s been a long road since 2008 and a lot has changed in that time period, which definitely includes, for example, how intense my love for her has grown in these last six years. So to say I am excited is a fucking understatement.

The ArtRave tour is already set in stone as my absolute definitive Event of the Year. One I am sure you will hear me discuss further in the countdown to the gig!

“ Has Sia taken responsibility for ending Kylie’s career with Kiss Me Once yet or nah?”

The always hilarious @mikewassmusic says in less than 140 characters what we’ve all been thinking.

Nicola Roberts writing for Cheryl Cole

Gaga's ArtRave: The ARTPOP Ball

Lady Gaga’s phenomenal ArtRave: The ARTPOP Ball world tour is coming to Melbourne and they’ve just announced a second show after the first finally sold out last week. This is a tour that is believed to be smaller date-wise than her next, so this could very well be something you won’t be able to just watch on DVD later on – it may face the same fate as the incredible ‘Born This Way Ball’ and never actually see a video release date surface for it.

Rumour has it that Gaga is already planning her new album and wants to tour that with a longer, larger than life tour. Fact or Fiction? Regardless, y’all should really go and get tickets for the show, especially if you were once a fan but are no longer. The footage I’ve seen of the show is so good that I strongly believe it would bring back a few of you haters.

Me Down Gently’ and ‘Uptight Downtown’ already causing an excited stir on the internet. And there’s still new stuff from Madonna, Marina & The Diamonds, Adele and Roisin Murphy to come in 2014, making sure this will indeed be one of the best years to consume the Pop Album.

5 Seconds of Summer We are very much 100 per cent officially on board with these local blokes.

or

Cheryl Cole

2014 COMEBACKS It’s turning out to be the year of the comeback with an array of pop stars coming out of the proverbial woodwork and releasing music for the first time in years.

Both Coldplay and Mariah Carey have new albums out and the latter, the hilariously titled Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse, is a return to form and will have its own review space in the coming issues of Splinters.

There’s also the excellent new Michael Jackson album Xscape, comprised of eight reworked demo tracks from the MJ vaults which go as far back as 1983, and La Roux are back in a big way with the incredibly long-awaited follow-up to their debut album on the horizon, with first singles ‘Let

As annoying as it still may be to acknowledge the fact that Girls Aloud have split up, it’s sort of exciting to hear former bandmate Nicola Roberts has had a hand in writing some songs for Cheryl’s upcoming long-player. Sia’s involved, too, but let’s not hold that against Cheryl just yet.

For potentially breaking up Girls Aloud.

Nicola Roberts For potentially being an integral part in the breakup of Girls Aloud.

Kimberley Walsh See above.

La Roux new album 'Trouble in Paradis'

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The Wild Feathers feature STORY Written by Tex Miller

In a world of auto-tuned vocals and Top 40 radio hits, it’s hard to get lost in the dance beats and simple lyrics. One band that is leading the charge in saving rock and roll music is Nashville’s own The Wild Feathers. With their electric guitar twang, four-part vocal harmonies and some sweet-arse riffs, they might quite easily become your new favourite band. Having supported the likes of Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Paul Simon, the feats the band has achieved within only the few years that they have been together is quite astounding. For the first time ever, the band is headed to our shores to play at Splendour in the Grass, with sideshows in both Melbourne and Sydney.

Speaking from the greenroom of the Bowery Ballroom in New York, just one of their many sold-out dates on their US tour, Taylor Burns, lead vocalist and guitarist for the group, still can’t quite comprehend how big the band has got in such a small space of time. “Man, it’s incredible, we have been working real hard for the past couple of years and it’s great to finally see some of the rewards of that right now. Crowds are getting bigger and the shows are getting more fun – and we get to come to Australia which is pretty bad-ass, too!”

The opportunity to play at SITG came about after the band’s debut tour of Europe throughout March this year, and Burns still recalls the day that they heard the news that they had just got an offer to play in Oz. “We were all super excited and kind of freaking out. We’d just got back from Europe and we were just sitting at home having some downtime and our manager called. It’s amazing to travel as much as we have and is truly a dream come true.

“Our name will surely grow as we write and record more albums and play more shows; although, we are just really happy with where we are at as a band at the moment.”

Working in other bands and writing songs individually, it was one jam session that sealed the deal on who we now know as The Wild Feathers.

Call it fate, call it a match made in heaven, Taylor Burns wouldn’t have it any other way. “Ricky [Young], Joel [King] and I all had our own bands going on and Preston [Wimberly] and I grew up playing music together. Joel and Ricky were passing through Austin and so we hung out and got some beers together and showed each other some songs. We started writing some songs together and things seemed to snowball from there.

“We never knew of the success that would follow us after the release of the album [2013’s self-titled effort]. I’m not even sure those support slots really happened. It feels like a dream, and even in my

dreams those guys are still untouchable. Sometimes you’ve just gotta step back and see how far you’ve come and celebrate how big the band has become.”

For the recording of their debut album, The Wild Feathers got in renowned producer Jay Joyce, who has worked with the likes of Cage the Elephant, The Wallf lowers and Emmylou Harris to name but just a few. In an attempt to invigorate the sessions to what they had done previously, the band primarily recorded all the tracks live.

“We had everybody in the same room and the only thing that was isolated was the drums. We tried to sing as much live vocals as we could and play the guitar solos and everything we could so there was really very little overdubbing.

“The bands we listened to as kids, that’s the way they did it, and there is just a certain kind of energy you can achieve. Jay’s an amazing producer and had all these amazing ideas for arrangements. We are really proud with how it turned out. There was a lot of waterskiing and beer drinking throughout the process, but there is always beer whenever we play.”

One of the highlights of the album is the opener ‘Backwoods Company’, a song that came about after a writing session in the smoky mountains of Tennessee. In frustrating weather conditions, the song was written quite naturally and recounts the wondrous scenery of the time.

“The roads were really icy so we couldn’t go anywhere and we were holed up in this cabin. We were playing guitar and Joel stumbled across this riff. From there it all just seemed to write itself.”

Undoubtedly, two of the best shows that

the band has played are the Willie Nelson and Paul Simon support slots. Invited up on stage

by Willie for seven shows of the band’s run on the tour, Burns is filled with nothing but praise for the man. “You look over on stage and you’re listening to an American icon and a legend doing his thing. He looks so happy and nice and genuine and most of his crew and band have been with him for the best part of forty years. It’s an incredible life achievement to be able to share the same air with those guys – and be on the same stage – who up until those shows were simply untouchable in our eyes.”

Looking forward to the future of the band, the second album release is slated for early 2015.

Having played a ton of shows since recording their debut, the process is set to be a lot more natural this time around. “We’d love to get Jay back in to produce the record if we could get our schedules to align. One of my alltime dream collaborations would be to work with Rich or Chris Robinson from The Black Crowes, so if they’re available, who knows, we might just try and snavel them to produce.

“We’ve played around 500 shows as a band now and there are always more shows to play and songs to write. We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us.”

When&Where: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne - July 25 & Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay - July 27

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forte 43

Film Reviews

Films reviewed by Anthony Morris

Edge of Tomorrow It’s the future – well, kind of the future, as it’s basically the same as today only with robot fighting suits and aliens. First we got the aliens, who are slowly but surely taking over Europe; then we created the battle suits so the people fighting the aliens would last more than five seconds. For sleazy PR expert Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) this is someone else’s problem – his job is to sell war, not fight it – until General Brigham (Brendan Gleeson) orders him to join the first wave of the attack and film it for the folks back home. Cage refuses point-blank. He’s demoted, branded a deserter, and assigned to a frontline unit. It’s all downhill for him from there, ending with Cruise blundering around a hellish battle zone trying to find the safety on his guns until he gets killed.

Then he wakes up back at boot camp and has to do it all over again. And again. And again.

Eventually he runs into the “Angel of Verdun”, super-cool badass Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), the only one who knows what’s happened

t he wr a p Godzilla It’s a big monster fighting other big monsters while the punk humans run around in a panic trying not to get squashed – so complaints that the human characters are underwritten or the story is predictable, while totally valid, are also kind of beside the point.

X-Men: Days of Future Past It’s the usual jumble you get when time-travel is involved, but thanks to a better cast than the superhero average this manages to be a fair amount of fun even when the various pieces don’t quite line up. to him: having been doused in alien blood when he died, he now has access to the aliens’ ability to reset time. But is one day enough to turn the tide of the war, no matter how many times he repeats it?

Just because the big action scene is the beach scene from Saving Private Ryan, the robot battle suits are from Aliens and the main plot device

comes from Groundhog Day (or Source Code), doesn’t mean this isn’t a lot of fun. Director Doug Liman keeps things moving fast and the tone light. The alien Mimics – which feels like a name left over from an earlier draft (it’s based on a Japanese YA novel titled All You Need Is Kill), as these aliens don’t actually “mimic” anything – are little more

than twirly tentacle monsters; a scary threat and little more, and where both Groundhog Day and Source Code added a bit of gravity to the idea of endlessly repeating the same day, this takes the opposite tack, largely playing the repeats either for laughs or just as chances to level his character up.

Some moments that stand out: a plan to sneak into Allied

HQ becomes a dance around security and Cruise does a solid job of suggesting Cage’s growing attachment to Rita in the small gaps allowed to him. The only let down here is a somewhat flat ending.

Even when you can repeat the same day forever, eventually your luck has to run out.

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.

The Trip to Italy Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are back on another foodie tour, spending their days bouncing impressions off of each other.

As movies go it’s pretty slight, but there are some amazingly funny moments here.

Belle In the late 18th century (think Jane Austen) Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is unique: the daughter of an aristocrat captain and a slave, she’s brought up in the lap of British privilege – a privilege that, despite her personal wealth, she can never fully share.

Maleficent

The Fault in our Stars Hazel (Shailene Woodley) is your typical teen: wise beyond her years, doesn’t have to go to school, and walks around with an oxygen tank. She’s a feisty truth-teller, even if pretty much the only thing she does do with her life is go to a cancer support group that she secretly mocks. Hey, lay off: she’s got cancer, don’t you know?

Then one day hot guy Gus (Ansel Elgort) turns up at one of her meetings and starts making serious eyes at her.

Luckily it turns out that while Gus had cancer, he’s totally in remission and he only lost his lower right leg so there’s still a whole lot of him to love. But dare they risk falling in love when life is so precious and fragile and they could die at any moment?

Impressive in its ruthless and methodical approach to tugging on the heart-strings, The Fault in Our Stars never stops coming up with new ways to make you cry. Cancer teens don’t impress you? How about multiple flashbacks to the time when a much younger Hazel almost died and her sobbing parents said it was alright for their little girl to “let go”?

And in the present day the parents (Sam Trammell and Laura Dern) get plenty of other chances to remind you that having a dying child is no fun.

Things never get too icky, though.

Hazel is occasionally panting due to lack of breath but she never coughs up blood or anything, while Gus’s missing foot only causes the occasional limp. But the romance is really only secondary to this film’s endlessly inventive efforts to make the viewer bawl: it’s a movie where even the comedy relief best friend (Nat Wolff ) gets dumped by his girlfriend then goes blind.

The highlight of this film comes when, for reasons best left unexplained, Gus and Hazel find themselves visiting Anne Frank’s attic hideaway. Once they get there, to celebrate their love and Hazel’s ability to climb stairs, Hazel and Gus make out as everyone else starts clapping.

Seems like cancer trumps Nazis.

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Once upon a time there were two kingdoms. One was full of regular selfish, greedy humans and was ruled by a king who’d come to power on a platform of conquering the other kingdom, which was full of magical creatures. There lived Maleficent (Isobelle Molloy), a fairy who was so kind and good she spent her days complimenting astoundingly ugly monsters and using her magic powers to heal broken tree branches. Then she met a human named Stefan (Toby Regbo) when he was caught trying to steal a rock, and if you thought this movie was above saying “he left having stolen something far more valuable” after he and Maleficent hang out, you’d be sadly mistaken.

The years go by, and as the voiceover informs us, “friendship turned into something more, and on her 16th birthday Stefan gave her a gift – true love’s kiss.” But more and more often Stefan is off trying to make a buck while she’s busy leading her kingdom’s forces against the king’s army (cue giant tree-men), and when they finally do get back together the now-grown Stefan (Sharlto Copley) has been thinking a little too hard about the King’s offer that whoever defeats Maleficent (now Angelina Jolie) will become his heir. So Stefan slips her a roofie, then cuts off her wings – he’s too kind-hearted to actually kill her, which just makes this sequences seem a little rapey. He becomes king, she turns into the evil Queen we remember from the Disney cartoon, and the movie finally kicks into high gear. For about ten minutes.

No sooner has she cursed Stefan’s child than she rescues a raven (Sam Riley) to become her studly shapeshifting manservant, and we’re stuck with a Maleficent who is more snarky than satanic. Even mildly snarky Jolie can be fun, and as a large stretch of this film is just her being arch while surrounded by a lot of happy goodie-goodie characters – including the cursed princess Aurora (Elle Fanning), who mistakes Maleficent for her fairy godmother and quickly warms her icy heart – there’s no real cause for complaint.

It’s a weird mish-mash of fairytale and sword & sorcery saga, but aren’t all Disney movies these days?

A Million Ways to Die in the West It’s not that Seth MacFarlane’s latest film isn’t funny. In this western comedy he continues the rapid-fire approach to joke-telling that’s been a hallmark of his career since he started Family Guy, so that for every joke that misses there’s at least one that hits. And he mixes up the kinds of jokes he’s telling too, so while there’s a fair amount of crude stuff here – one running joke involves a hard-working prostitute (Sarah Silverman) who’ll happily discuss her work dramas with her sappy fiancée (Giovanni Ribisi) but won’t sleep with him because they’re married – there’s a bunch of smart jokes about the nature of the West and the social attitudes of the time (people sure were poor, ignorant and racist) in there, too.

But while there’s plenty here that works there’s also just a little too much that doesn’t, starting with MacFarlane casting himself as the lead. His character – basically a modern-day schmuck stuck out in the Wild West, making modern-day observations about the hicks, yokels and murderous gunslingers (that’d be Liam Neeson in that role) – suits his limited acting abilities fine, and he’s canny enough to write a romance where his partner (Charlize Theron) does all the heavy lifting when it comes to actually falling in love, but he’s not a leading man and having him as the central character smells just a little too much like self-indulgence. He doesn’t drag the film down, but he doesn’t raise it up either, and with a film as hitand-miss as this one a weak leading man is a fatal flaw. Plus, it’s a comedy about Westerns at a time when we hardly even have regular Westerns.

Unless you really have something exciting and new to say about the genre – and this doesn’t – step away and leave it to Blazing Saddles. Though Neil Patrick Harris as an evil moustached supply mogul is pretty funny.

The Other Woman 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.

Bad Neighbours

Grace of Monaco If you were looking for a template to base a movie about Princess Grace on, The King’s Speech probably wouldn’t leap to mind. And yet that’s what we get here. New to the throne of Monaco, former Hollywood glamour girl turned princess Grace Kelly (Nicole Kidman) is yet to make any real connection with her subjects or her duties – in fact, she’s actively considering going back to Hollywood and acting in Alfred Hitchcock’s latest movie. But when her tiny kingdom is threatened

by France’s crazy demands that they start taxing their subjects and stop being a tax haven luring away French Corporations – and if you’re thinking ‘wait, why is that such a bad thing?’ you’ve spotted one of this often very silly film’s bigger problems – and her husband, Prince Rainier (Tim Roth), proves to be somewhat unlucky at diplomacy, it’s up to Kelly to knuckle down and do her best to use whatever skills she has to save her adopted home.

Dramatically this is a mess. The “crisis” around Monaco is certainly a legit one by the time France is threatening to invade, even if refusing demands to actually have a taxation system and stop being a millionaire’s tax haven seems like a point of principle that’s hard to get behind. But drawing Grace

into affairs of state and having her save the day by – and this is not an exaggeration – hosting a big party and giving a speech about how great love is doesn’t exactly make her seem like a brilliant stateswoman.

As for her personal growth, while the director has said elsewhere he sees this as a film about an artist forced to give up her art, we’re never given much sense of Kelly as an actress (presumably if you’re coming to see this you’re already a fan), making the ‘will she or won’t she’ around her return to acting feel more like her thinking about backing out of the whole princess deal. Which would be fine if we ever had much of a sense of the relationship between her and the prince, but even that is sketchy at best.

Instead there’s some laughable stuff involving a sinister personal assistant (Parker Posey), Derek Jacobi is a count who teaches Kelly how to have facial expressions via a bunch of flashcards (who has cards made up that say things like “surprise” and “remorse”?) and there are loads of mirrors in every scene to make sure you know that Kelly was always being observed or something. It might not tell the story up to her death, but this whole film is a car crash.

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.

Hugh Jackman, X-Men: Days of Future Past

Music Reviews, Charts and New Releases

wh at ' s n ew ?

Stockholm Chrissie Hynde

The Pretenders frontwoman is already a huge name in rock and roll, but this is her first solo record.

It features guest appearances from Neil Young and, somewhat surprisingly, John McEnroe.

Available now on Warner.

Platinum Miranda Lambert

For a second I thought this was Miranda Cosgrove, and was prepared to tear it a new one. Fortunately, it’s country star Miranda Lambert with her fifth studio album. This one features nobody’s favourite Maria von Trapp, Carrie Underwood.

Available now on RCA Nashville.

Led Zeppelin I, II, III and IV Led Zeppelin

I know, I know, I’m getting sick of writing about reissues too, but these are four of the greatest albums in the history of rock and roll – and some of the most influential, too. Everyone should own them.

Available now on Atlantic.

Lazaretto Jack White

Modern rock genius Jack White is following on the heels of 2012’s hugely successful Blunderbuss with Lazaretto. If it’s half as good as Blunderbuss, it will be this year’s best original release. Available now on Third Man Records.

Ultraviolence Lana Del Rey

You either love her or hate her, but she’s back. Ultraviolence is Del Rey’s third LP, but only her second of note, since, let’s be honest, nobody knew who she was before ‘Video Games’ went viral.

Available tomorrow on Polydor.

Kim Churchill Silence/Win Independent

Currently the most played single on triple j, it’s evident right from the getgo that Kim Churchill has done well with Silence/Win, his latest release.

Opening with ‘Single Spark’, it sounds like he has for a moment been hanging out with an indie rock band because the instrumentation in the track is a lot more sparse than Churchill’s previous works. Jangly guitar lines and thundering drums are sure to get your head bopping along like it did mine. If you haven’t seen Churchill on this latest run of dates, it’s going to be awhile before he’s back again because he has a French/Canadian/European tour set up for the next little while.

As you would expect there are some slower delicate numbers on this album which shows how much Churchill’s composition and lyric writing has developed over the past few years since his last release. ‘Don’t Leave Your Life Too Long’ shows this ability prominently. A slow-burner of a track, it sounds to me that it could be covered by Maximo Park or Franz Ferdinand for ‘Like a Version’.

Having travelled all around the world playing music, this collection of tracks sounds like it’s been prepared for commercial radio, and although that makes me a little cringeworthy, it’s a great achievement for one of Australia’s hardest working singer-songwriters.

We’ve grown to know Churchill over the past few years with each album release, and we are shown a different side to him with this release.

It will be interesting to see what the next chapter entails, but for the moment get your mitts on this solid folk-acoustic release.

Tex Miller

1984 GPAC, Geelong

June 5, 2014

A huge George Orwell fan, it is safe to say I was very interested how the dystopian novel would translate to the stage, and I was by no means disappointed.

Shake and Stir’s Nelle Lee and Nick Skubij have successfully adapted Orwell’s tale of Big Brother’s hold on fictitious state of Oceania and are also part of the incredible cast of five which also includes Ross Balbuziente, Hugh Parker and star Bryan Probets, who is mesmerising as the heartbroken dreamer Winston Smith. Probets’ performance is truly outstanding.

With his gaunt appearance regularly projected on the large screen towards the back of the set, you really get an insight into the character’s thoughts, feeling and emotions throughout the performance For those unfamiliar, 1984 is a truly frightening story about a world of perpetual war, constant government surveillance, and public manipulation, dictated by ‘The Party’, the all-seeing all-controlling political system headed by the infamous ‘Big Brother’. The adaptation

captures the fear perfectly so, however it won’t leave you having nightmares. It is a performance that really keeps you thinking from the outset and throughout and the stunning visuals provided on the screen are vital to getting across the authority and propaganda of The Party.

For such a dark tale, I came away from this truly heartening performance completely satisfied. The young, animated cast really do take you take you on an emotional rollercoaster and were not the slightest bit thrown and even carried on with the show when the stage experienced a small audio malfunction for several minutes.

To describe in ‘Newspeak’ it was ‘doubleplusgood’. The set and production was rather large-scale for a touring show and with the entirely of the stage used, the audience was really transported to 1984 Oceania.

Shake and Stir have done a great job with this production and it is a must see for any Orwell fan. It stays relatively true to the novel, and don’t be surprised if you start noticing CCTV cameras a little more regularly … Perhaps Big Brother really IS watching?

Abbey King

P R O DUCT R E V I E W :

D’Addario NYXL Guitar Strings Review provided by manufacturer.

Two years ago, we challenged ourselves to reinvent the electric guitar string. The result is the all new NYXL range by D’Addario.

These are the strongest set of electric guitar strings ever made. Stronger than any of their predecessors, they settle to pitch faster, and hold pitch better– with wound strings boasting more output and plain steel strings that aren’t so plain.

Arriving here wasn’t easy. Our engineers traveled many paths, starting with the selection of new high-carbon steel alloys, completely re-imagining the wire drawing process, and revolutionizing the corrosion-resistant tin coating application. The result is something you have never experienced before: unprecedented strength and pitch stability.

Making the world’s strongest string was not enough. Our engineers simultaneously worked to reformulate our nickel-plated steel windings. The result is something you’ll have to hear to believe. These strings have 6% more magnetic permeability, resulting in higher output in the 2-5K hz. range for more punch, crunch, and bite. With more magnetic output, there are simply more possibilities.

There have been only two meaningful generations of round wound electric guitar strings. The original formula, originating in the

Mia Dyson Idyllwild Black Door Music

1950s, used pure nickel, creating a characteristically mellow sound. In the early sixties, John D’Addario, Sr. introduced a brighter sounding, second generation nickel-plated steel string, which became the industry standard for the next five decades.

Today, 80% of all electric guitar strings are based on his formula.

Once again, D’Addario is revolutionizing the electric string. While our family has been making strings for hundreds of years, we take it as our personal responsibility to pioneer and innovate. This string does just that.

We are introducing these strings as D’Addario NYXL strings. This name is an important distinction for us; our family and company have a rich history in New York. All new steel wire has been formulated, created, crafted, and perfected here in the Empire State. We are proud of our New York legacy, and even prouder that all of our strings originate at our Long Island home.”

RRP: $24.99 (Music Workshop currently offering special introductory deal of $17.50)

Opening with the title track, rollicking punky guitar lines and kick drum compliment my headphones.

It’s a little bit of a departure away from the bluesy guitar tunes that Dyson is well known for but I think it is a positive direction for her fifth album in eleven years. Funky basslines and organ accompaniment are present in ‘Growing Up’, which make the sensitivity and passion in Dyson’s vocals shine through a lot more in the songs than previously.

If I’m completely honest, when I started listening to this album I was expecting a lot more blues guitar than what is on this album, given my love for her earlier works, yet there is always something that draws me back to this album. ‘Want You There’ is glittered with Dyson’s soulful vocals, and although it is a slower number on the album, it offers much light to the shade.

Based in L.A. at the moment, Dyson is playing shows throughout the US for the next couple of months.

No doubt we will get to see the new live show soon enough. For the moment, put this album on and listen to the wonderful progression of Dyson’s music.

Tex Miller

Wagons Acid Rain and Sugar Cane Independent

Australian country music has never looked in better hands than with Wagons and their latest album, Acid Rain and Sugar Cane. Gritty electric guitar and horn arrangements ring out as Henry Wagons channels Nick Cave in ‘Hold On Caroline’, the most impressive opener to one of their albums yet. Co-produced

by Mick Harvey of the Bad Seeds fame, this album in parts is a lot darker than previous releases, but I think that is one of the main positives behind it. It’s a little bit psychedelic in parts, but definitely a masterpiece filled with drinking songs as well as some for your road trip.

Influenced by classic albums

by The Band and Bob Dylan, it seems that Wagons has finally hit the mark with both his arrangement of songs and the players he has got along for the ride. With the Saskwatch horn section, City and Colour’s Matt Kelly on pedal steel and Steve Hesketh from the Drones on honkytonk piano, this album is incredibly impressive right from the beginning. ‘Chase the Eclipse’ opens with the growl of guitar and sounds like it has just been pulled from a Steve McQueen car chase film.

If you haven’t heard of Wagons, get down to the Barwon Club and experience this cracker album for yourself. Within one single listen, this release has made my Australian album of the year list – and I don’t see it getting knocked off the top perch anytime soon.

Tex Miller

Propagandhi The BC, Geelong May 31, 2014

Do you like time machines?

I like time machines, but I guess that is irrelevant to this review. It’s been 17 years since Propagandhi last played in Geelong. When I was first told I was surprised because it felt like it was only a couple of years ago. I then looked in the mirror and realised it really was 17 years since last time – and they have released four studio albums in that time, with only one that I have heard/owned. So the fact was I’d more than likely not know 3/4 of their setlist.

After the incidents of their 1997 Geelong show, I was unsure how it would go. I enter the venue to see that the barrier is up again, another hint to how I know it’s not the ’90s. I arrive just as the first band Away From Now is starting, whom was a staple as support on these sorts of tours in the ’00s. I thought they had been broken up all of this decade, and who I had not seen perform since the days of the Arthouse in Melbourne, but apparently this was a once off (they officially called it a day in 2006). It didn’t feel like it, as they powered through their set as tight, if not tighter, than what they were 10 or so years ago.

Next up is Crisis Alert, a band I had no idea about, but there was a recognisable face on stage, fronted by a dude who goes by the nickname of “Footy”. I realised they were from Adelaide (“Footy” runs an excellent record store in Adelaide called Clarity Records), but their sound was welcomed by my ears; a ’80s-styled hardcore/ punk band in the Minor Threat, Void, Jerry’s Kids, Negative Approach vein whose intense set felt like they got through around 30 songs. (I actually have no idea how many songs they played, but I liked it.) They finished up and the band room started getting a tiny little more intimate and vocal, which was an indication that Propagandhi’s time to play was near.

Propagandhi arrive on stage and started straight away – fierce, no bullshit, full of energy – which indeed was a hell of a lot different compared to last time. They did not let up. They briefly stopped after a few songs and said a thank you, and were appreciative of the crowd response after every song, and it was noticeable; yet again, highly different to last time. I have no idea of the songs they played, which I knew would happen, and the people I was there with also had gone for pure nostalgic values, but it did not stop the fun.

Propagandhi were what I had hoped for: tight, explosive, unrelenting and not giving a shit.

The most well received song of the night goes to ‘Fuck the Border’.

Before I know it, the set is over and not one political rant, or any rant. IT was all just pure energy and power that was unrelenting.

I am sure glad they came back to Geelong and hope it’s not 17 years between their next visit (which I doubt it will be).

Lucas Barnes

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Forte Columns

grog watch Written by Tony Montana

It’s been a long time since I cared anything about music but man, you tell me there’s a new Body Count single out and watch me come a-runnin’.

Not that I actually think Body Count make great music or anything, but … well, let’s start all this from the beginning – back in the early ’90s.

Ice-T – then still best known as a rapper and not the last man standing on Law & Order: SVU – decided to indulge his love of heavy metal by putting together a band called (you guessed it) Body Count. The music they made wasn’t all that good, but Ice-T – knowing that metal was where you were supposed to say a whole bunch of stuff about death and destruction, and coming from a gangsta rap background – wrote a whole bunch of hilariously “in-yr-face” lyrics about

death and destruction, including destroying cops in the infamous track ‘Cop Killer’, which stirred up all matter of controversy and eventually led to the song being withdrawn from sale.

Not that it’s hard to find these days … *cough*. Anyway, if you were the kind of person who took this sort of thing seriously then I guess a bunch of metal songs about sex and murder might have been shocking, but out in the real world all this stuff was so over-the-top it was hilarious (to me) – and now you know why I laughed out loud when I read that Body Count’s new single was called ‘Talk Shit, Get Shot’.

What can I say? One of my alltime favourite lyrics is from a song off Body Count’s (otherwise fairly average) second album, in which a little kid on a trike gives Ice-T shit so “I pushed that little sucker in the traffic so graphic /when the f***ing bus connected he flew like Knievel/it was a necessary evil”. So it’s safe to say that my expectations for this new single

were pretty high just from the awesome title. Good news: the song (and video) more than lives up to the high bar set by previous Body Count songs like ‘Bowels of the Devil’, ‘Evil Dick’ and ‘Momma’s Got to Die Tonight’, let alone the three songs on their first album with “Body Count” in the title (‘Body Count’s in the House’, ‘Body Count’ and ‘Body Count Anthem’).

It begins in a corner store with some obvious dweeb talking crap to a couple of bemused guys while checking his phone – sadly, this dweeb isn’t voiced

by Ice-T, as whatever you might think of his acting abilities, he’s one of the all-time greats when it comes to putting on fake nerdy voices – and guess what?

It seems that the news that Body Count is back pops up on his phone, which is pretty impressive as I really had to search to find out any details and they didn’t show the clip on rage until 3 a.m.

The dweeb’s response to this unsolicited news? Various hilarious twitter snark like “hashtag body bitch … hashtag body

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odor, cause I bet they stink”, at which point his phone starts acting up, Ice-T appears on the screen looking pissed, an arm comes out of the screen, and the dweeb is pulled into his phone.

Instead of calling the cops or Ripley’s Believe it or Not, the two guys who see this run off just as the song begins.

Guess they’re not fans of the music.

Anyway, the dweeb has been dragged into a Body Count concert, which is presumably his own personal hell, and … well, we never see him again. What we do see is some of the funniest stuff I’ve seen in a music video for ages – well, the funniest gun-related stuff at least.

For the rest of the clip, in between performance shots, we get variations on a theme: various lamewads – a fedora wearing vegan hipster, a white business guy, a couple of old ladies at lunch – find out Body Count is back, make some snarky comment online, then a van pulls up and a couple of guys open the side door and gun them down. Seriously: if you say

something snarky about Body Count online, you will be gunned down in the street. Seems fair enough to me.

Meanwhile, the actual song is pounding away reinforcing this particular message, though for mine the best bit of the track comes when Ice-T rattles off a long list of euphemisms for getting shot, including “dusted with the musket”. Has anyone ever said that since the War of 1812? Did anyone ever say that even when people used actual muskets? I mean, “Dropped with the Glock” at least sounds like something someone might say.

Anyway, the whole thing ends with the Body Count band – which, as usual, seems to have about fifteen members – running down the street, passing the camera by and revealing there’s a cop car behind them. Is the cop car chasing them for their murder spree? Did they just kill the cops? If so, why is the car still moving? If it’s chasing them, why is it moving so slowly? All questions for another time: my head’s still reeling

from a song about personally murdering people who insult you on the internet.

It’s the internet: surely you’d need an atomic bomb or a plague to kill all the trash-talking dudes online. Guess that’s why we haven’t heard anything from Body Count over the last decade: they’ve been door-to-door murdering everyone who had a bad word to say about anything they’d ever done. That’s why I’m giving both the song and the clip two thumbs up: my talking shit gets me in enough trouble already.

Tony “Now, back to my Dean Martin records” Montana

WWW.MUSICWORKSHOP.COM.AU 39 Fyans Street, Geelong VIC. 3220, PH: 03 5221 5844

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WHAT’S ON @ THE EMC GROUP

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