Forte #589

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ISSUE #589 ball ar at | bell arine | Bendigo | ca stlemaine | geelong | surf coa st | warrnambool |

26/06/2014

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graveyard train “...there’s a lady in the Czech Republic with the lyrics to one of our songs tattooed down her back!” pg.18

CHINGY pg.27

THE BEARDS

pg.19

REMI

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the holidays

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morgan connoley

pg.34

ALSO FEATURING: Blak Cabaret, Blues Boot Camp, Claire Bowditch, Jungle, The Underhanded, QMF 2014 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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in this issue:

forte issue #589 t h u r s d ay 2 6 j u n e 2 014

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

remi pg.19

graveyard train pg.18

enquiries@fortemag.com.au

THE HOLIDAYS pg.36

Publisher

McNamara Publishing editor / DIRECTOR

Luke McNamara

luke@fortemag.com.au DEPUTY editor

Amanda Sherring

CHINGY pg.27

advertising

Abbey King

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Lucas Barnes

lucas@fortemag.com.au Art director

James Dulce Scene photographer

the beards pg.19

W IN!

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fo r t e F REE B IE S !

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Gerard Way in Action

A Word with MythBusters

Gangsters’ Ball Don’t you go forgetting the swing dancing, cabaret and vaudeville extravaganza that is the Gangsters’ Ball. Taking place on September 13 at The Forum in Melbourne, the event is a fabulous recreation of a 1930s Speakeasy Club. Performers include Stephanie van der Strumpf, Frankie Faux, Mr. Gørski, The Great Gordo, Ruby Rubberlegs, Headfirst and The Sault Poets. Dress to kill. For further details please hit gangstersball.com.au.

Hopefully you have your ticket in hand for the upcoming MythBusters: Behind the Myths tour (Melbourne CBD/The Plenary – August 17) as it is shaping up to be something pretty darn special.

One half of the dynamic duo, Jamie Hyneman, recently spoke with Gizmodo about the upcoming tour, which you can check out through gizmodo. com.au. The threeepisode pilot series debuted in 2003.

Hanging with Ella Hooper In support of her new single ‘The Red Shoes’, Ella Hooper is stepping out in style for a couple of intimate shows. The single, lifted from her forthcoming solo album In Tongues, draws upon the Hans Christian Anderson tale The Red Shoes, which tells the story of a young girl forced to dance continually in her red shoes. The song adds to the excitement and anticipation already at a high for her debut solo offering. Shebeen – July 18.

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Earlier this month former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way unveiled ‘Action Cat’, the first single to be lifted from his forthcoming debut solo album. It was produced by MCR collaborator Doug McKean. If you head across to gerardway.com, you can score a download of the single if you sign up for the mailing list. Way will also be making his debut as a solo artist at this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals.

The Amity Affliction Ride the Waves A line-up of The Amity Affliction, Architects, Issues and Deez Nuts sounds pretty good, hey?

In celebration of their latest album Let the Ocean Take Me, The Amity Affliction have rounded up a bunch of mates, including the UK’s Architects and US outfit Issues, for a handful of allages shows. Let the Ocean Take Me, the follow-up to 2012’s Gold Certified Chasing Ghosts, is the band’s fourth album.

Festival Hall – August 31.

J Mascis Turns it Down Towards the end of August Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis will release Tied to a Star.

Featuring Cat Power’s Chan Marshall and Black Heart Procession’s Pall Jenkins,

the album is apparently mostly an acoustic, mellow affair. The album’s first single is ‘Every Morning’. As for the album, Mascis made the announcement when he sat in with Fred Armisen’s house band on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

A Long Wait for Death The chances are you have heard that Death from Above 1979 will release their new album in September. It has been a decade since the Canadian outfit released their debut, so the buzz around The Physical World is pretty loud. Drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger teased NME by saying: “The last record we made was like [Radiohead’s] Pablo Honey, and this one will be more like Kid A.”

The Greatest Year It would be cheap and easy to start off this blurb by referencing a particular show about the trials and tribulations of a family in the late ’60s, but I am above that. Pennsylvania pop punk outfit The Wonder Years formed back in 2005. They have been incredibly busy since, releasing four full-length albums and a stack of EPs and splits. Their latest is The Greatest Generation.

The Hi-Fi – September 4 & PYC – September 5.

John Garcia in the House We know and love John Garcia like the cool uncle who hooks us up with cool tunes. There was Kyuss, next came Vista Chino. When Garcia hits Australian shores a little later in the year he will be armed with his debut self-titled album.

The album, which hits shelves at the beginning of August, features a guest appearance from Robby Krieger of The Doors. Oh, you’ll still hear tunes from his previous bands. The Espy – September 12.

Lowtide’s Debut As you may very well know, on July 18 Melbourne outfit Lowtide will release their debut self-titled album. If you can’t wait the few weeks until its release, head across to their Bandcamp page and have a little listen to ‘Held’ and ‘Blue Movie’. Held, for what it’s worth, clocks in at a very friendly three minutes and is described as “the shortest song we will possibly ever write”.

The Tote – July 25.

In Her Element Following the release of three albums, US songbird Kina Grannis began posting videos online to YouTube. Her first post, ‘Message from Your Heart’, was entered into Doritos

The Chic Nile Rodgers Mr Everywhere, Nile Rodgers, sent out a tweet recently that will have fans doublechecking his resume.

Announcing that he is recording a new song with Chic, Rodgers’ tweet read: “I’m just finishing up a new song for Chic that’s going to feature almost everybody that’s ever sung with me. I can’t wait to do that session.”

It’s just cause for excitement given past collaborators include Bowie, Madonna and Pharrell Williams.

Crash the Super Bowl Contest. She won. You may also know her as the ‘In Your Arms’ jelly bean girl. Her latest album is Elements, a release produced by Matt Hales, aka Aqualung. Athenaeum Theatre – July 16.

Fare Well Co. Fashion with a conscience is what Fare Well Co. is about, though that sells them short. Using 100 percent organic fabrics, all profits are used to take steps in addressing global poverty and environmental issues. Their winter range has just been released and it features 100 percent cotton organic sweatshirts made by MILA Fair Trade Clothing in India.

Their socks and tees, meanwhile, are made right here in Oz. Be sure to swing by fare­well­co.com.

Voyager V In 1990, Rocky V, the fifth movie in the greatest movie franchise of all time, hit cinemas. Now, in 2014, Perth heavy-hitters Voyager welcome their fifth slice of goodness in V. The band was (contd.)

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formed in 1999 by Daniel Estrin, a German-born musician who was studying law at the time. As is the popular way, Voyager took to crowdfunding for their latest release, reaching their goal within three days. The Workers Club – July 12.

PlayStation TV in Oz

Hear Them Howling Bells They may well call London home these days but Howling Bells are still Aussies at heart. The dream pop quartet of Juanita Stein, Joel Stein, Glenn Moule and Gary Daines formed out of Sydney in 2005 before making their way abroad for greater opportunities. They haven’t been out this way since 2011, but with new album Heartstrings in hand, the band is feeling reinvigorated. Howler – September 11.

The Cat Empire Return Fun-lovin’ music-makers The Cat Empire have announced a whole lotta shows around the country a little later in the year. With their good vibe music spreading joy to some 250,000 globally per year, the band is always on the go. Before they take off around home sweet home, the band will take in the European summer festival circuit in July and August. Ah, it’s going to be nice to have them back here. Festival Hall – October 4.

In late 2013 the PlayStation TV was released to Japan and marketed as the Vita TV. A cross between a PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, the mini console allows users to play Vita games on their TV with a PS3 controller, as well as stream to and from a PlayStation 4 on the same network.

Well, the system is coming to Australia and looks like being made available between September and November. A price estimate is $149.95.

Share Some Wine with UB40 Formed in 1978, reggae/ pop outfit UB40 has racked up some unbelievable figures in their time, with over 70 million album sales and 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart.

Notable singles include ‘Red Red Wine’, ‘Many Rivers to Cross’, ‘Kingston Town’ and ‘I Got You Babe’ (with Chrissie Hynde).

Last year the band released their eighteenth album, Getting Over the Storm.

The Palais – December 11.

Feels Like Heaven for New Navy Sometimes you need to step back before moving forward. Following a brief hiatus to re-invent their sound and get used to a tweaked line-up, New Navy have returned with a new single in ‘Heaven’.

The dreamy pop jam was written at a lakeside cottage on NSW’s South Coast.

Proving that the band had been sorely missed, the single clocked up over 70,000 SoundCloud spins within ten days.

Polyester Wants You It was a sad time for Polyester and music lovers alike when the cool little haunt had to shut its Flinders street doors. However, it hasn’t dampened their spirits.

The team has launched a crowdfunding campaign in order to fine-tune their Fitzroy premises so they can get back to putting on in-store performances.

A stack of cool rewards are up for grabs, so head across to Pozible and throw a little coin their way.

Over in Area-7 Milestones have a way of bringing back bands from the dead, and so it is that we will see Area-7 on the road very shortly.

Formed in 1994, the band rose from the ashes of a Madness cover band.

They have been relatively quiet since 2005’s Torn Apart, but they have never officially broken up. Crank up a bit of ‘Second Class Citizen’ for old times’ sake and get ready to party. The Corner – September 19.

Scott Spark Flexes His Muscles Unearthed by triple j in 2010 and granted a Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship in 2011, songman Scott Sparks has a way of getting people to fall in love with his music.

His new release, Muscle Memory, is “designed to be a gut-punching emotional wallop of an album, driven by old-world piano and strings, set to the backdrop of living history”.

Scott performed at the Sydney Opera House for TEDx earlier in the year.

The Toff – August 7.

A Rebel Yell Australia’s Rebel Wilson is set to appear in a new action-comedy alongside Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong, who played Frank D’Amico in KickAss. The film, Grimsby, is about a black-ops agent (Strong) who is required to team up with his soccer hooligan brother (Cohen).

Cohen was also involved in writing the screenplay.

At the time of writing there were no details as to what Rebel’s role will be.

Bangerz & Mash Ah, the PMRC would have had a field day with Miley Cyrus. And no doubt she would have given as good as she got.

Never one to shy away from things, Ms Cyrus is heading to Australia with her Bangerz tour, a name lifted from her album of the same name. Released last year, the album is seen as the reshaping of her career. Cyrus has described it as “dirty south hip hop”. Rod Laver Arena – October 10.

A Peek at Smash Bros.

It’s Not So Hardwell Dutch DJ and producer Hardwell, aka Robbert van de Corput, is heading to Australia later this year for three giant shows. Inspired to become a DJ as a youngster after watching a special on MTV, Hardwell had signed his first contract by the age of 13. By the age of 14 he was deejaying in clubs across the Netherlands. He topped the poll of DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs in 2013. Myer Music Bowl – October 3.

For his latest Clueless Gamer segment, Conan O’Brien got his mitts on the highly anticipated Super Smash Bros. game.

Okay, it’s not out yet – it doesn’t even have a cover design – but nonetheless Conan has given the game a crack. By the looks of things the game could get very chaotic, especially with four players involved, and could ultimately lead to bust-ups and breakups.

Kill nine minutes through teamcoco. com/cluelessgamer.

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Gaslight 8pm GOLDEN VINE HOTEL (Bendigo): J R Baker THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Dear Ivy HOME HOUSE: Upstairs: MITS (single launch), Madeleine Downstairs: Georgia Sinclair KAROVA LOUNGE (BALLARAT): Crossfire Hurricane LAMBYS: Stellar MARTIANS CAFE: Benny Walker THE MAX: Wooshka THE NEWMARKET (Bendigo): Live Bands ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Luke Pote, Forever Son, Sam Fletcher OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Cam Kettle PISTOL PETES: Shannon Bourne WARRNAMBOOL: Fun4Kids festival UNWINED CELLAR BAR: Live music WHISPERS: Coming up: DJ’s including Aston shuffle, Andy Murohy, Ruby Rose, John Dahlback, Slice n Dice, Jam Xpress, New World Sound, Jack n Jill, Mic Newman, Apocalypto, John Course, Zoolanda, Jebu, Jane Daffy, Butters, Generik, Tigerlily, Hey Sam, Katt Niall

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Gaslight 8pm LAMBYS: Adam 12 THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Graveyard Train OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Jeff Lang ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Big In Sweden, Lukey Luke, Geoff Pink, Sam Fletcher THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17 WARRNAMBOOL: Fun4Kids festival

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TUE 8 JULY BENDED: Parmi night ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Kids Eat Free PISTOL PETES: Open Mic Night

WED 9 JULY THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Kareoke and Dave Anderson BENDED: Second chance & pub quiz BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Shit Trivia Mexican Night GEELONG RSL: Pot and Parmi Night $13 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50 GPAC: Tastes of Central Geelong Food Discovery Tour 10am PISTOL PETES: N.O.L.A Night, all things New Orleans and Louisiana

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Graveyard Train feature STORY Written by Natalie Rogers

He once compared going out on tour with fellow bandmates as being like Christmas lunch with family: they drink too much and bicker. But these days frontman Nick Finch is singing a different tune. “So far everything’s been great!

I just got back after being away for five days. The shows have all been really fun – we’ve had great crowds, but it’s been nuts! There’s still some heavy drinking going on but we’re not screaming at each other, we’re just having a really good time together. Hopefully it lasts!” Nick joked.

Suddenly I hear something in the background that explains his happy mood even more: “Oh sorry, that’s my daughter Wanda. She’s just learning to talk and she missed me when I was away so she won’t let me put her down!”

Fatherhood clearly agrees with the seasoned musician and it’s abundantly clear that time away from the road and each other was the saving grace for the band and the catalyst for their fourth studio album, Takes One to Know One. “We just really needed a break. Things were getting out of control but I feel like we have it back now.”

If you’ve been aboard the Graveyard Train you’ll know and love their spooky brand of alt-country, but I think you would agree that their latest release is a little different. “Maybe it’s because we were writing apart from each other this time, but it’s definitely a lot less schlock horror, oogity-boogity monster music!” That reply elicits a giggle from little Wanda and suddenly I feel I’m witnessing a tender daddy-daughter moment featuring the man who wrote the lyrics on The Drink, The Devil and The Dance (Graveyard Train’s second LP, 2010).

After he put his daughter down for a nap Nick continued: “It’s just been a natural progression for us, though I definitely feel like the songwriting has matured. It’s a bit less over the top.”

That reminded me of another lighthearted comment Nick had made about the prospect of starting a new band.

Nick and the guys once joked that they’d contemplated forming a band called The Normal Men, writing songs about mundane things like forgetting the shopping list. “I don’t think we’ll ever quite become The Normal Men after all!” he chuckled. “That was a funny idea we had at the time. We’re always going to write darkish lyrics as Graveyard Train, although honestly, this band came from a drunken idea long before we even picked up any instruments!”

The men of Graveyard Train are truly men of the renaissance – exceptional musicians, friendly and up for a laugh; the kind of guys you’d like to have a beer with. Most recently, they’ve become clever and innovative businessmen since self-funding their own independent record label, Black Hat Rackets. Nick is forthcoming about its inception. “We’d had some problems with our old record

label, which is a pretty typical story for bands I guess. It’s a tough industry.

There’s not much money in it and it seems even less money ends up in the band’s pocket. So we started our own record label to release this record [Takes One to Know One] and re-release our other records.

“We’ve been doing this thing for a while now and I don’t think anyone that starts a band starts out to create a small business, but to gain some control we had to do it ourselves. With this label we plan to help out some local bands, mainly the bands that Josh [Crawley – guitarist/banjo player] thinks are his babies, like Eaten By Dogs, and there’s an American guy we’re thinking about putting out as well. But it’s just small stuff. We’re not trying to make a big record label, we just want to use a bit of our experience to help out some bands that might not be able to help themselves. It’s fun.

“I guess we’re getting a bit older and don’t want to be touring as much as we used to, so it’s kind of another way to stay within the music industry and do what we can to help the Melbourne music scene.”

The band has a few regional dates coming up and recently played a show in Geelong (a place they spoke about fondly) with a band called Cherrywood.

“One of the guys in the band is actually helping out at Black Hat Rackets and we’re going to be releasing their music if all goes well. They’re pretty nuts. We took them up to Tamworth and some redneck offered them fifty bucks to leave town! They’re pretty raucous and wild.

We played with them up in Brisbane on the weekend, too.

“Those shows were crazy and there was a woman up there that had a hammer and chain tattoo done just before our gig! Also there’s a lady in the Czech Republic with the lyrics to one of our songs tattooed down her back. We have some pretty nutty fans – they’re a little weird but it’s great. I can’t tell you how much we’ve been enjoying these shows.

We’re looking forward to being back on the road, which wasn’t always the case, and we were getting to the point where we were just dreading it. Of course we always love it when we’re on stage, but we’re actually really enjoying hanging out together, so the shows are extra energetic!” Nick promised with a smile.

When&Where: Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs – June 29; Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – July 4; and The Loft, Warrnambool – July 6

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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REMi Written by Tex Miller

When asked the important questions such as ‘What Australian biscuit complements your cup of tea in the green room before a show?’ REMi really doesn’t know how to answer at all. We’re chatting about his new record Raw X Infinity which was released over the last few weeks and he is relating to me about how the afterparty following gigs can go either one of two ways. They can be what you’d usually expect, or the downtime and relaxed post-show celebrations would most likely involve Chinese jasmine tea and a serve of Mongolian BBQ, rather than a hard Australian biscuit.

It’s been a massive couple of years for REMi who, since being unearthed by triple j, has become one of the biggest hip hop artists in the country.

Together with Sensible J and Dutch, they have created an intense and high energy set which has seen them support the likes of Joey Bada$$ and grace the stages of Falls Festival, Push Over and St Kilda Festival.

Describing the new release, Kolawole feels that the record isn’t that far removed from his debut.

“The new album has just come out and it is both similar and different in the same vein. There is quite a variety of music on it; one minute it’ll be

straight hip hop then boom, it’ll cross into more electronic stuff. There are a lot of options on this record and I think that these songs are some of the strongest we’ve written as a band.

Everybody is loving it at the moment which is fantastic. I can’t wait to take it on the road.”

Touring around the country throughout June, REMi is checking in on the Karova Lounge in Ballarat for one night only. “It’s really cool that we’ve been a band for a year or so and released a couple of records and people come out to our shows. There are a few regional places that we’re hitting on the tour for the first time. If you haven’t seen us before, expect high energy levels, live drums, and possibly a megaphone.”

The diverse range of influences on this record have allowed for a lot more experimentation and interpretation within the tracks on Raw X Infinity: throughout the main singles ‘Tyson’ and ‘Sangria’ there are a lot of different sounds that have been influenced by Radiohead, The Roots, Mos Def and early Kayne West to a certain degree.

“I think that on this record I was

When&Where: The Karova, Ballarat – July 10

listening to music with a message. We listen to whoever we’re feeling man and there is no real blueprint for whose path we should cross. That’s the main reason that the album is so eclectic I think.”

The same week that REMi was

named Unearthed Artist of the Year in 2013 he dropped by triple j to perform for Like a Version. Covering the classic Avalanches track ‘Since I Left You’, there was no other fitting track to pay tribute to for the segment.

“Musically, that album is beautiful. It jumps around from straight Spanish grooves to

hip hop. No record to date has been made out of so many samples. A true Australian masterpiece.”

Who knows what the setlist for the upcoming tour will entail – you might just hear a bit of ‘Since I Left You’ if you’re lucky.

Jungle Written by Natalie Rogers

They’ve been hyped as a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, so when news came in that Tom (aka T, one half of the core duo behind the publicity-shy collective) called Forte Mag to dispel a few myths, jungle fever spread throughout the office.

Not to be confused with American hip hoppers Jungle Brothers, heavy metal rockers Jungle Rot, UK girl band Neon Jungle or Brisbane’s own indie four-piece The Jungle Giants, the London-based collaborative Jungle were noticed by all the right people at this year’s SXSW Festival, toured Europe and the UK with Haim and are now heading our way for Splendour in the Grass and a one-off Melbourne sideshow.

“Everybody says it’s a super cool festival – we’re just excited to get out there. Australia’s definitely somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit from what I’ve seen on TV or the movies, plus I watch a lot of sport so I’m very aware of Australia’s sporting endeavours,” T said with a smile. “Hopefully we’ll get a couple of hours to sit in the sun on a beach somewhere.”

Calling from the US in the throes of a relentless tour schedule, T seemed most excited about the free all-ages gig they’ve planned for the next day in NYC. “We want to connect with as many people as possible and the most important people to us are the ones that listen to our music and come to our shows, so the more we can give to them the better.

“But we’ve been really surprised by everything that’s happened here – by the crowds and by the people who’ve turned up to the shows. And we did the Jimmy Kimmel show, which was a brand new experience for us also. It was incredible.”

It seems the once elusive West Londoners are relishing their chance to connect with more lovers of their 1970sstyle funk, but T assures me they’re about the music.

“It’s been crazy fun and it’s been hard work but I think that’s really rewarding.

It’s a job at the end, you know at the end of the day, and we love working hard. The more hard work you do, the more it pays off.” Wise words from a man who has spent his adolescence idolising American indie-rock bands with a like-minded kid next door.

“J [or Josh to his friends – Jungle’s co-creator] and I grew up together in London. When we were fifteen or sixteen indie music was massive. The Strokes were a band we listened to a lot, and Kings of Leon – their first couple of albums were really mind-blowing to us. Those bands represented a world we’d never seen or experienced before and they played sounds we’d never heard before. They

When&Where: The Corner, Melbourne – July 29

really captured our imagination.”

Soon the two best buds started making music of their own, but when they decided to work together with the idea of forming a larger group, that’s when things really came to life. “J and I only started writing and producing the songs for Jungle in January 2013. We

just sat down in the studio together and started having some fun and everything happened pretty naturally. For us, creating music is a way of hanging out, it’s what our friendship is based around. It was really cool to find something that clicked and find something that we’re both really happy with and proud of.”

Today Jungle is a visually impressive six-piece,

complete with full band and backing singers, and they’re about to release their debut self-titled album in midJuly. “We’re so eager to get the album out, and now it’s time to let it spread its wings and fly the nest!” Check out lead singles ‘Busy Earnin’’, ‘Time’ and ‘The Heat’ at junglejunglejungle.com

The Beards Written by Zach Broadhurst

The humble beard is currently in a renaissance, the likes of which we have never seen. Celebrities, sportsmen, musicians – the list goes on for those embracing the once oppressed facial feature, all thanks to the tireless work of four brave men.

“We knew we were up against it spruiking for such a highly maligned attribute. Certainly at the time those were dark years; we’d walk down the street and people would spit at our feet,” says Facey McStubblington, lead guitarist of The Beards on the time the band formed 10 years ago.

The Beards have spread their hairy message across the globe, costing the big shaving companies countless dollars in their war against the razor, while also putting themselves in grave danger.

“Schick and Gillette have all dropped in their annual growth and we take full responsibility,” explains McStubblington. “We get death threats every day from the CEOs of these companies and we just stand true. If they want to come and razor our throats then they will just make us stronger.

We will be martyrs, stronger in death. The message will be true … I say bring it on, come at me, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT!” Despite the threats on their lives, The Beards have not shied away from their message, instead releasing The Beard Album, with McStubblington

revealing what fans can expect: “It’s very much about beards, I can tell you that. In fact, I’m going to go out there and say this is probably the most beardrelated album ever.”

As McStubblington highlights, this record will again be wholly on the subject of beards. And for those of you wondering how they manage to keep writing song after song about beards, well, you just don’t understand the power of this bushy fixture.

“Ultimately artists throughout time have always relied on outside sources, which they would refer to as a muse,” says McStubblington. “More often than not it’s a woman, and women, all respect to them, can be a bit flighty at times. There’s not always a woman on hand to help you or inspire you, whereas my muse, my beard, is always right there on the end of my chin.”

With the release of their latest album, The Beards are also embarking on their biggest national tour to date.

Yet despite their strong stance on beardlessness, there still seems to be a clean-faced presence at their shows.

“In my stomach I feel sick at the thought of it and beardless

When&Where: The Karova, Ballarat – July 16; The Barwon Club, Geelong – July 17; and Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – July 19

people listening to our music,” says McStubblington. “But then at the same time that’s kind of the purpose of our music, to reach out to these people and try and offer them a better life.

People without beards who come along will experience a life changing event.

Something Tibetan monks spend 50 years trying to achieve, you will achieve that in one night at a Beards gig.”

But for all those clean-shaven fans making excuses, McStubblington has these words of advice: “Just stop shaving, gee-whiz! It’s easy.

All you have to do to have a beard is nothing.

Females always come up to us and say, ‘Oh I can’t grow a beard’, and that’s bullshit, because if you wait long enough you’re going to get one. When my grandmother turned 80 her beard came into full force and she was a handsome woman.” forte 19

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THE UNDERHANDED

GEELONG LASER TATTOO

CREATING ELECTRONIC MUSIC

“Now we just gel really well and understand each other. Sometimes it’s just crazy. We pretty much just picked up our instruments and started a band. ” pg.24

“They’re great old-school tattoos that he got in the ’50s when he was in the navy. The problem is that the girls’ legs hang out the bottom of his shorts, so he’s just getting the legs of each girl removed!” pg.26

“It has many possible uses and our course aims to equip you with enough confidence in working the program to take it into whatever area of music interests you most.” pg.26

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CHINGY

Chet Faker … At Last REMINDER: As you know, due to a bout of laryngitis Chet Faker was forced to postpone his Geelong date at The Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex. The rescheduled show will now take place on Wednesday, July 2. A rising star in the world of soultronica, Chet Faker has a stack of international touring to get to once his local dates wrap up.

“If I weren’t a musician I would have prolly been into science or history or something of that nature.” pg.27

In the Garden with Tim Hulsman We were pretty chuffed when we got to spend a little time with songman Tim Hulsman recently. The son of a preacher, Tim turned his back on religion at the age of 18. Music became his passion, and the tough journey began. Following the usual kind of music dealings (band breakups and all that jazz), Tim found his calling in acoustic-based music and storytelling.

As 2013 broke, the songman found he was brimming with a new energy and new songs. His new album, Dead Man’s Garden, brought him to us.

Speaking with our own Tex Miller, Hulsman said: “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.” Beav’s Bar, Geelong – July 4.

KENNEDYS CREEK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2014

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The Good Peppercorn Queen Who is the Peppercorn Queen? That would be Jackie Marshall, a Queensland-raised singersongwriter and AMP shortlisted artist with 1001 tales to tell. Her latest release is EP The Good Life, an album that has been in the planning for five years. Recorded in an old tobacco shed in New South Wales, the EP features three original songs and three covers. It also features instruments both common and unusual, including guitars, 12 strings, timpani, tuned wine glasses (on the track ‘Song for You’), piano, farm machinery and sonar pings.

However, for someone who has also written for puppet theatre in Slovenia and composed country haiku songs in Japan, nothing is too unusual. The Bridge, Castlemaine – July 17 & The Main Bar, Ballarat – July 18. She’ll be back by her lovely band, Fat Lambs.

Battle of the Bands How do you get noticed as a band these days? It’s not always easy, but luckily the Push Start Battle of the Bands gives aspiring rockers and rollers the chance to shine. Hosted by the awesome FReeZA team, regional heats take place from February to August each year. Regional finals then take place between October and November, with the Grand Final finding home at the Push Over festival in March. On August 7 the Geelong heat will take place at Courthouse ARTS. The event is being headlined by 2013 runner-up and Geelong hometown heroes, Residual. Since their outing, the band has played shows in Adelaide, Warrnambool, Sydney and the Gold Coast. They also managed to sell out their hometown show at Beav’s Bar. Residual’s latest single is ‘Numbered’.

Brooke Russell and The Mean Reds Ah, songs about boozy nights, bad decisions, broken hearts and the best intentions – sounds like a recipe for success. Many of us would have our story to tell about at least one of the above, which makes connecting with Brooke Russell and the Mean Reds’ county/blues/folk/swing tunes so easy. The band is inspired as much by swing, alt-country and traditional jazz as they are singersongwriters including Ryan Adams and Tom Waits. 2013 was the year that gave us their debut album, Poor Virginia. Co-produced and mixed by Neil Thomason (Wagons, Augie March, Jen Cloher), the album found a spot in Basement Discs’ Top 10 Australian Albums of the Year as well as Unpaved’s 50 Best Albums of 2013. The Bridge, Castlemaine – June 27 & The Main Bar, Ballarat – July 12.

Hold Josh RennieHynes Down Music has played a part in Josh Rennie-Hynes’ life for as long as he can remember. The Brisbane songman has been in and out of bands for a good chunk of his life, yet it was while living in Canada when things picked up speed. While living in a ski resort, Josh stumbled upon a local restaurant that hosted a music competition. Each week musicians would play off against each other, with the eventual winner landing professional recording time. No prizes for guessing how this story ends. The Americana/folk artist is now winning friends on home soil, with triple j and ABC Radio National among those spinning his tunes. Speaking of which, ‘Hold Me Down’ is his new release. The single is lifted from his album February, recorded with man-abouttown, Shane Nicholson.

Babushka, Ballarat – July 2.

Gas Light @ GPAC Gas Light is a 1938 play penned by British dramatist Patrick Hamilton that tells the story of a couple whose relationship is questioned by an outsider. Set in London in 1880, the play takes place within the home of Jack and Bella. Bella believes she is going insane, while Jack’s unexplained disappearances only fuel the problem. Following the arrival of a police detective, questions begin to arise.

The play, as well as its film’s adaptations, gave rise to the term ‘gaslighting’; that is, “a form of psychological abuse in which false information is presented to the victim with the intent of making him/her doubt his/her own memory and perception”. Gas Light has a solid run at GPAC’s Woodbin Theatre, kicking off July 4. Play times and bookings can be found through gpac.org.au.

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Dude, Where’s My Beer?

Ararat Live Calendar Ararat Live is a not-for-profit group that hosts original live music in venues around Ararat in Western Victoria. They have done some fantastic work over the years and recently notched up their 50th gig. And there is plenty more to come.

Making his way to the Ararat Hotel’s Red Room this Friday, June 27, is Daniel Champagne. The young songman took to the guitar at the age of five and writing songs by the age of twelve. At the age of 18 Daniel left school and had eyes only for the open road. Now aged 24, he has performed at Canada’s Vancouver and Mariposa Festival and Belgium’s Labadoux, as well as Australian favourites including Woodford, Falls Festival and Port Fairy. His latest release is Gypsy Moon – Volume II. Candice McLeod will warm things up.

East Coast Madness Tour Another week and another killer show at Bendigo’s Music Man Megastore.

Taking place next month is an all-ages ripper featuring Thanartist, Red in Tooth, Fifth Day of Ice, Griever and To Atlantis Light.

Thanartist, Fifth Day of Ice and Red in Tooth have been on the road for around a week where they have been playing a stack of shows in the name of Queensland’s metal scene. Thanartist formed in late 2011 and has toured with the best in the business including Thy Art is Murder, The Amity Affliction, Dream On, Dreamer, Buried in Verona, Twelve Foot Ninja and Dead Letter Circus.

Fifth Day of Ice formed

the same year. They, too, have some impressive supports, including Fear Factory, Unwritten Law and Dead Letter Circus.

Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – July 13. * This is the final stop of the tour.

Another Round with Bog Log III Quick bite: Ah, look who it is. Bob Log III, one of the hardest-working musos in the game, is swinging

by Warrnambool way this weekend. The man with one of the dirtiest sounds around – not to mention probably the strongest legs of any musician – is very much loved in Australia.

The slide guitar one-man band has been doing his thing for over twenty years now, regularly clocking up some 150

Dude, Where’s My Beer is a regional weekender set to take place early next month. Basically, a bunch of bands decided it would be good to get together and perform all-ages back-to-back shows across a Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the school holidays. Ain’t that sweet of ’em? Lining up for the trio of dates will be When Giants Sleep, Road to Ransome, Bayharbour, To the Grave and Interview with an Escape Artist. Headlining this ultimate little road trip is When Giants Sleep.

From our political hotbed, the post-hardcore outfit has been in business since 2011. With comparisons to the likes of The Getaway Plan, The Amity Affliction and Alexisonfire, When Sleeping Giants have maintained a solid pace since their formation. They have shared the stage with a bunch of household names including Northlane and Buried in Verona and in 2013 performed on the Canberra leg of Vans Warped. Back in March they released their latest offering, Lucidity, which was backed up by a string of shows throughout April and May. Who will be the last one standing by the end of it? Which of the bands has the most endurance? Is it safe having so many bands in one spot at one time? And seriously, dude, where is my beer? Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – July 6. shows a year. The Loft, Warrnambool – June 28.

The Cairos & Nova Heart REMINDER: The past 12 months has been a blur of touring, festival appearances and recording for Brisbane four-piece The Cairos. Now fans get to see the result of the band’s hard work with the release of their debut full-length album, Dream of Reason. Beav’s Bar, Geelong – June 29. They’ll be joined by Nova Heart.

Icehouse’s Platinum Series There remains a whole lot of love for the band that has given us such songs as ‘Electric Blue’, ‘Hey Little Girl’, ‘Crazy’,

‘Great Southern Land’, ‘My Obsession’ and ‘Man of Colours’. With their White Heat: 30 Hits compilation reaching Platinum status, Icehouse figured they would return the love by announcing a string of shows. Frontman Iva Davies: “Live is where we get to really know our fans better. The band members love mixing up the sizes of the venues and the performances so the Platinum Series gives us a chance to get around the country, play the songs everyone wants to sing along to and to throw in a few surprises.” Regent Theatre, Ballarat – September 5. Icehouse formed as Flowers in 1977. Davies remains the sole remaining founding member.

Jimeoin’s Funny Games He can make ’em laugh in America.

He can make ’em laugh in Amsterdam. He can make ’em laugh in the Middle East. He can even make ’em laugh in New Zealand.

Indeed, Jimeoin can make people laugh wherever he goes. We fell in love with Jimeoin through his own TV show back in the mid-nineties.

Later on came The Craic, his debut feature film.

Following that, The Extra. There has also been Over the Top, his unique TV series that saw him take in hotels, theatres, swimming pools and cattle ranches “over the top” of Australia.

Then you have his top-selling CDs, local and international tours and, well, heaps of other stuff.

His latest outing is the World Cup series, The Full Brazilian.

Wyndham Cultural Centre, Werribee – July 24 & GPAC – July 25. (Photo: James Penlidis)

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this is only according to their promotion so don’t go tweeting Damian Barrett, “the official after party for the loss of Paul Roos’ job after the Cats take down the Dees”.

The Mutants Are Out in Force

Trippin’ with Ball Park Music On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love Ball Park Music? ’Cause you see, the band is hitting the road in September for their Trippin’ the Light Fantastic Tour, which should give them just enough time to fine-tune their new songs.

Not that they really need it, being such a well-oiled music machine. Hey, did you know that ‘Trip the Light Fantastic’ means “To dance, especially in an imaginative or ‘fantastic’ manner.” Apparently it originates from a fella named John Milton who, according to Wikipedia, was an English poet, polemicist and a man of letters. Others attribute it to ol’ Willie Shakespeare, but you can fistycuff that argument out in your own time. Anyway, enough of dead dudes, this is about Ball Park Music. ‘Trippin’ the Light Fantastic’ is lifted from the band’s latest album, Puddinghead. Recorded in a dilapidated house in South Brisbane, their third full-length album in as many years is showing the band seems to have a bottomless pit of musical ideas. Kill Your Stereo: “BPM are one of the strongest acts in Australian music at the moment, and Puddinghead is by no small measure the strongest thing that they’ve released throughout their entire career so far.”

The Karova, Ballarat – October 8; Black Swan, Bendigo – October 9; and The Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex, Geelong – October 11.

It’s All in Jeff’s Head There aren’t a great many muso or band out there that can lay claim to having made 15 albums, but folk-blues songman Jeff Lang sure can. I Live in My Head a Lot These Days is his new release, and after all this time he is still mixing it up a little.

Jeff: “I hit on a process where performances were recorded as I usually would but instead of mixing the album the conventional way (through a mixing board which sums the channels together via the master bus fader

of the desk), I ran every instrument’s recorded track back through a monitor speaker each (or in the case of the drum kit, three speakers to replicate the physical size of a kit in a room). These speakers were then arranged around a stereo microphone like they were the players on an early stereo jazz session.”

Old Hepburn Hotel, Hep Springs – July 6.

Rock City Takeover How much hardcore can you handle until your brain begins to melt?

You’re going to have a chance to find out when

Rock City Takeover comes to town. Presented

by Old School Cartel, Rock City Takeover is a hardcore night out with Rust Proof, Deadly Visions, Street War, South Paw and XuppercutX. Featuring members of Tenth Dan, Blood Money and Speartackle, Rust Proof is a band with a healthy amount of hardcore DNA – tough, punishing hardcore with unparalleled energy. The Barwon Club, Geelong – July 12. Music gets underway at around 7 p.m., but if you get there earlier in the day you can enjoy a BBQ. Also, and

Stable Music is thrilled to present three of their finest for next month’s Mutant Dance, the club night dedicated to the evolution of dance music.

Lining up will be Safari, Doug Benson and Matt Radovich. Safari is the alter ego of Samuel KlettNavarro, a man who grew up in the heart of Madrid but now calls Australia home. He has warmed up or closed down sets for Radio Slave, Stacey Pullen, Ripperton and Robert Babicz (aka Rob Acid).

From Stable’s Facebook: “Over the past 12 years Stable has brought some of the most forward-thinking direction in sound and sonic development to our shores … Open source and genre-free are our biggest assets and we always strive to explore new experiences whenever possible.” Basement 159, Geelong – July 11.

The Box of Blues Blues pairings don’t get much cooler than Chris Wilson and Geoff Achison, with both players having been an essential part of Australian blues for many years. Chris joined the band Sole Twisters in 1984, before joining Harem Scarem the following year. While a member of Harem Scarem, Wilson lent his harmonica skills to Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls’ debut, Gossip. He has been releasing solo material since 1992. Geoff arrived on the blues scene in the 1990s through the Dutch Tilders. He is widely regarded as one of Australia’s finest guitarists. The Box of Blues takes these two blues journeymen and puts them on the same stage. The partnership came about after they were asked to perform as a

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duo aboard Queenscliff ’s Blues Train. The Bridge, Castlemaine – July 11.

Music Man Megastore Gigs There are a couple of gigs at Bendigo’s Music Man Megastore next month that you may wish to check out. On July 11, The Caning will take you back to 1972. The band may have strapped on their guitars in 2012, but these riff-loving freaks feel at home in the progressive rock and proto-metal of the early 1970s. We’re talking Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Recently the band has been working on their debut with US producer Tim Gilles.

The following night, July 12, Neurotik Trendz will take to the stage. Music is something that you keep coming back to – just ask NT. First founded in 1993, formed in 1996, reformed in 2009, and back in action again in 2014, the band just can’t leave their tunes behind.

And fortunately they have maintained their good ol’ rock sound all the way through.

Reflection of Lior Earlier this year Lior released his newest album, Shattered Reflections.

Born in Israel, Lior moved with his family to Sydney when he was ten.

He released his debut, Autumn Flow, in 2005, which garnered three ARIA nominations and a J Award nomination. He is also quite the wanderer, performing in the UK, Singapore and Korea as part of WOMAD, as well as every nook and cranny of Australia. For his latest release, Lior spent a couple of weeks travelling and writing music with friend and collaborator Cameron Dale. Speaking about the album with the ABC (abc.net.au), he says: “I see it in two halves really.

There’s half which is more nostalgic and acoustic and lyrical, but I really wanted to give the album another face as well.” The Capital, Bendigo – July 24.

It’s a Wonderluxe Life WONDERLUXE is back for another humdinger of a show – and humdinger isn’t a word one throws around loosely. For those not in the know, WONDERLUXE is an arts and music project supported by a City of Greater Geelong Community Arts Project Grant. One of the bands set to perform at the event is Melbournebased trio Love of Diagrams. The band formed back in 2000 and released their debut album, The Target is You, in 2003. Touring extensively both on local soil and abroad, the band has racked up an impressive support resume with names including Sonic Youth, Electrelane, Sebadoh, Swervedriver and Trans Am. You read our last issue, right?

Then you may have read the interview Natalie Rogers had with the band, who shared the goods on their hopefully not too far away album. “It [the recording process] 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.”

The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 28.

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Fri. 4 8pm $2 PERFORMANCE NIGHT

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Fri. 11 8pm free ʻFUNKY DANCE TUNESʼ

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SURF COA ST

The Underhanded Written By Daniel Waight

Surfcoast grunge group The Underhanded are about to release their debut EP, Superpsycho. The EP was recorded at Melbourne’s Birdland studios with producer Rob Long and is due for release later this year.

The Underhanded features Patrick Doolan on vocals, Ian Hawkins on bass, Jarrah Taylor on drums and guitarist Cory Balloch, who says they all really enjoyed recording the EP. “The recording process was really good. We kind of got it off our backs because we’ve been working to an EP for so long – we’ve tried two times in the past to do it but things have always fallen through. Birdland was really good. We learnt a lot and made the most of it and I think we got the best of what we could in our time there.”

Superpsycho is a kind of tribute to all the songs The Underhanded have written and performed since they formed in 2008, with a good mix of older and more recent material.

“It’s kind of all the best songs from our years of being in the band together,” Cory says. “Two of the songs on there we wrote when we were about 15, and the latest song on there, we were probably about 18 when we wrote it. So it’s kind of like getting all the good songs that we’ve written over the years off our backs so we can move on. It’ll definitely be nostalgic.

A lot of people who’ve known about us for a while might be able to pick up the EP and think, ‘I remember them being 16 and playing that song’.”

Cory, Ian and Jarrah are all Anglesea boys originally, while singer Patrick hails from Torquay. Cory describes their musical style as “a mix of grunge, shoegaze and stoner rock”. All four guys attended Oberon High School and all began learning their instruments at about the same time, so forming a band together seemed a natural step. Cory says that learning together was a really helpful experience.

“It was really good actually, because now we just gel really well and understand each other. Sometimes it’s just crazy.

We pretty much just picked up our instruments and started a band. It was pretty fun learning because we have really similar influences and similar music tastes, so everything just crosses over and we work really well as a musical group because of that.”

Now that they’ve got a taste for recording, apparently there are plans for a lot more releases. “We’ve got heaps of new stuff,” Cory says. “The EP’s just really old songs, and we’ve been writing heaps since then. So pretty much as soon as we can we’re going to go do another EP.” The Underhanded are now based in Melbourne and have a Cherry Bar residency coming up on Tuesdays in July and are also booked to play at Brutality Fest in Melbourne on August 2. According to Cory, The Underhanded are having a great time as a group and are as curious as anyone to see how far they can take it.

“We haven’t really set out to be a super, massive famous band. We always thought we could do something with it. We’ve been happy with what we’ve done so far, so I guess it’s all just about taking it as far as we can. We’re in it for the ride.”

Where&When: Cherry Bar, Tuesdays in July

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The Many Tricks of Rhys Crimmin

Melbourne. Bowl-a-Rama, Geelong – August 24.

What’s On @ Martians

As the age of 17, Rhys Crimmin took out second place in the Australian Busking Competition (2003). It was a massive way to kick-start a career that continues to go from strength to strength. The magic happens in a live setting, where you will find Rhys surrounded by instruments, his arsenal including four different styles of guitars (including 6- and 12-string acoustics, Resonator and Weissenborn lap steel), along with didgeridoos, harmonicas, kazoo and foot percussion. Name an Aussie festival and he has probably played it – Port Fairy Folk Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival, Apollo Bay Music Festival, Australian Blues Music Festival Goulburn, Folk Rhythm and Life Festival and the Maldon Folk Festival, among many others. The Loft, Warrnambool – July 27.

The Standards of Lloyd Cole

Quick bite: As we have become accustomed to, Martians Café has a few wonderful gigs coming your way. This Saturday, June 28, Tiffany Eckhardt and Dave Steel will perform.

Regarded by many as the most dynamic couple in Australian blues folk, the pair’s latest release is Big Big Sky. On July 5 blues/acoustic/roots songman Benny Walker will perform. Hailing from regional Victoria, Benny has attracted a loyal following both locally and abroad. And on July 12 you have the always cool Dave Graney.

Origins of Hate Heathen Skulls and Metal Obsession are the ones to thank for the Origins of Hate tour. In the blue corner you have Melbourne’s Mason. Since releasing their self-titled debut in 2011, the band has toured and shared stages with Havok, Primate, Forbidden, Hobbs Angel of Death, Blood Duster, King Parrot and Elm Street among others. They entered the studio in 2012 to record their debut album Warhead, a release that features an appearance from Jeff Loomis (Nevermore).

In the red corner you have Harlott. A fellow Melbourne band, Harlott take their cues from the Bay Area thrash of the 1980s.

For lovers of the old school, the Origins of Hate tour is something you aren’t going to want to pass up.

The Karova, Ballarat – July 11; Music Man, Bendigo – August 2; and The Barwon Club, Geelong – August 3.

First Annual Ferragosto Festival If you love your Italian food you’re going to love this. Presented by Apra Productions, the first annual Ferragosto Festival serves up four amazing Italian courses and five hours of live entertainment.

Ferragosto is an Italian and Sammarinese public holiday celebrated on August 15. Although technically running from August 15 through September 1, other than the national holiday on the 15th, it is left up to everyone else how they want to spend the period. As it marks the beginning of the summer holiday period, parts of Italy become virtual ghost towns due to people packing up and holidaying. Anywho, back to local celebrations.

Entertainment for the day will be Tony Pantano.

The Mondo Music Italian Merchandise Stall will also be coming from

We’re in for a real treat with UK songman Lloyd Cole currently in Australia for a run of shows. Born in Buxton, Cole studied law for a year before switching to philosophy and English at the University of Glasgow. It was here he would meet other members of what would become the Commotions. Following a run between 1982 and 1989, the band broke up and Cole embarked on a solo journey. As a solo artist, Lloyd Cole released his self-titled debut in 1990. A string of releases have followed, his latest being last year’s Standards.

His tenth album under his own name, Standards was apparently inspired by the “energy and vibrancy” of Bob Dylan’s Tempest.

The album is notable for its use of electric guitar, a departure from the acoustic Cole. Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – June 28.

A Death in July Death in July is a celebration of Australian women’s crime writing.

Making its inaugural outing next month, a stellar lineup of authors will speak about a wide range of topics including the “CSI effect” and YA crime writing. The festival is the idea of Ballarat Writers, in partnership with Sisters in Crime.

Guests include Angela Savage, Annie Hauxwell, Carmel Shute, Ellie Marney, Honey Brown, Judith Rodriguez, Leigh Redhead, Lindy Cameron, Liz Porter, Maurilia Meehan, Meg Tasker, Nansi Kunze, Shelley Robertson, Simmone Howell and Vikki Petraitis.

Detective Superintendent Therese (Tess) Walsh will also give a talk. MADE @ Eureka – July 4 & 5.

For further information hit ballaratwriters.com.

Ballarat Writers is a grassroots organisation that promotes local writing and writers in the Western Victorian region.

Poisoned Kings Tour Quick bite: Norse will lead a brutal force of metal on an expedition stretching the east coast.

The NSW-based extreme metal band has recently coughed up their latest EP, Pest, which has been receiving a stack of great press from various metal outlets. Who else is joining them? Fellow NSW outfit Apparitions of Null, Victoria’s Hadal Maw and Canberra’s Aeon of Horus. Melbourne-based A Million Dead Birds Laughing make up the local support. The Barwon Club, Geelong – July 4.

Geelong RSL Trivia Night Quick bite: Did you know that the height of Uluru is 348 metres? Did you know that the backstroke begins a swimming medley relay? Did you know the Bathurst 1000 race consists of 161 laps? Did you know that sound travels faster through steel than it does water?

There is nothing like a little trivia to bring out the best and worst in people. Taking place at the Geelong RSL on July 4 is the Smarty Pants Trivia Night. Free finger food, with complimentary drinks for the winning table. 7 p.m. start.

Fun4Kids Festival REMINDER: 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 takes place daily from Sunday, June 29 through Sunday, July 6. Festival doors open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For further information please visit fun4kids.com.au.

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The Light of Day As you fine readers may have stumbled across last issue, Ocean Grove is set to host the local leg of a worldwide charity concert next month – the first version to take place in Australia. The Light of Day charity concert is staged in aid of Australian and US Parkinson’s charities. Its origins begin in 1998 when artist manager and music industry veteran Bob Benjamin set out to celebrate his 40th birthday. At the time recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Bob asked for donations to be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation in lieu of birthday gifts. Supported by friends and family, including concert promoter Tony Pallagrosi and musician Joe D’Urso, the Light of Day charity was formed, its name taken from the Springsteen song. Since its inception in 2000, more than two million dollars has been raised.

Local performing artists include Marshall Okell, Chris Wilson, Rebecca Barnard, Nick Barker, Jackie Marshall, Tim Neal, Sarah Carroll, Sweet Felicia and the Bash Big Band.

Marshall Okell was christened Marshall Dawson Okell; the ‘Marshall’ coming from Hendrix’s middle name, while the ‘Dawson’ was lent from Johnny Winters. Basically his musical path began at the moment of his birth, a journey that has been littered with many bands, most notably Marshall & The Fro. His latest release is 2013’s Birdy EP. The Piping Hot Chicken Shop – July 19.

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Blak Cabaret Some of the nation’s finest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entertainers are bringing their comedy, poetry, music and dance to Greater Geelong.

Blak Cabaret artists will perform at the Potato Shed, Drysdale, at 4 pm on June 29.

The experienced performers have been selected not only for their talent, but also their commitment in shaping Australia’s cultural identity.

Malthouse Theatre engagement officer and Blak Cabaret producer Jason Tamiru describes the show as funny, moving, heart-warming and very entertaining.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people come from an oral history and Blak Cabaret plays to that strength,” Mr Tamiru said. “Blak Cabaret’s established performers have been entertaining audiences for more than 30 years, creating contemporary songlines throughout the country. Our emerging performers are continuing the story, forging their own footprints.”

The line-up for the Potato Shed performance includes legendary singersongwriter Kutcha Edwards, who has performed at most major music festivals with both his own band and the renowned Black Arm Band, using

music as a medium to tell the stories of today, and yesterday.

The show will be emceed by actor and director Kylie Belling, whose extensive work across theatre, film and television includes feature film The Sapphires (2012) and television series Redfern Now (2013).

Australia’s own busking Black Elvis (Gnarnayarrahe Waitairie) will perform, along with gum-leaf player Uncle Herb Patten, countrypop singer Illana Atkinson, band man Peter Rotumah, contemporary musician Joe Geia, former So You Think You Can Dance hip hop dancer Nikki Ashby, joyfully ridiculous comedian Kevin Kropinyeri, poet Dennis Fisher (Den the Fish) and actor Ian Michael.

VicHealth CEO Jerril

Rechter said Blak Cabaret, which is funded under VicHealth’s Arts About Us program, takes audiences on a heart-warming journey into our nation’s soul. “Since its debut in 2012, Blak Cabaret has toured Victoria to entertain and move audiences in regional areas.

It’s fantastic to see it on the road once more for this special performance in Drysdale.

“Blak Cabaret is more than top class entertainment from Australia’s finest Aboriginal performers. It’s a funny and moving commentary about where we come from, who we are, and most importantly, a celebration of the richness and diversity of all Victorians.”

When&Where: Potato Shed, Drysdale – June 29

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Creating Electronic Music PART 2

Written by Phil Kearney

With the massive rise in popularity of electronic music, more and more musicians are turning to software such as Ableton Live to create, produce and perform their artistic visions. With the midyear intake into Oxygen College’s Electronic Music Production course commencing in July, I caught up with Chris Wheelwright who runs the EMP program at Oxygen to find out about the course and how to begin your journey into electronic music.

Tell us a little bit about the course?

Electronic music production is the art of creating music using computer technology. Our course focuses on Ableton Live, a leading digital audio workstation, DAW for short. This software allows the user to create, perform, edit and record music. Our course is all about introducing students to this software, explaining its workflow and layout, the basic workings of the program, enabling our participants to begin to explore its vast potential for their own creative ends. There is no bias to any genre in the course. Ableton has features that allow it to integrate within a conventional band setting, as well as being a powerful tool for creating innovative DJ sets.

It has many possible uses and our course aims to equip you with enough confidence in working the program to take it into whatever area of music interests you most.

What types of projects will the students be involved in?

We begin with some fundamental DJ and sequencing techniques to get the grips with how Ableton operates.

We look at all aspects involved in creating new, original works, from recording midi and audio tracks to sampling and mixing. Performance aspects are also covered, looking at how Ableton can extend out of the computer onto a midi controller, unleashing its live performance potential. Each project focuses on building an ever-wider skill set in how to create music with Ableton Live.

What are the key outcomes for the students?

The freedom to use this software to explore their own creativity is the main goal of the course. The use of

electronic production techniques is very prevalent in dance music, but it is not the only application open to you.

Ableton can be used for film scoring, and we cover such a project in our Cert III course, and can be incorporated into a band setting, so it has relevance to any genre.

What are the essential tools needed to create electronic music?

W H AT ' S O N IN T H E RAT ?

Venue Review: The Eastern Written by Daniel Lock

Hello those that love my lame article introductions, Daniel here with an account of what’s been happening at the venue trading under the name “The Eastern” these days.

Located at 81 Humffray Street, North Ballarat, The Eastern has changed hands many times over the years (previously known as Eastern Station Hotel) and has had many different owners’ gimmicks in promoting itself (the previous owners had an article in Ballarat’s local newspaper titled “Australia’s Most Haunted Hotel”).

The current publicans, Erin and Luke Matheson, haven’t taken the pub down the ghostly path but rather gone for a more down to earth feel. Making it about the music, the drink, and more importantly, the people (because sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name...). And it’s certainly looking that way, with a more personal approach to their running sheet of ‘What’s On’: when reading it you’ll be more taken in by first name hosts and DJs, and not entirely

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bombarded with band names in bold text. That’s not to say The Eastern doesn’t have its share of awesome live bands though. This month has already seen both local and city bands playing a variety of music.

Saturday the 7th of June had Waltz, Morning After Morning and Tartarus play an awesome night of music; Saturday the 14th had Melbourne bands Twin Ages, A Gazillion Angry Mexicans and Swamp Moth play a gratuitous amount of eargasms; and the 21st had local grunge band Vinegar Hill and local punk rockers 80 Hundred both supporting punk/ hardcore outfit Wolf Ticket.

Supporting local and touring acts and society in general, isn’t where the ball stops rolling for Erin and Luke; they’re well invested in the arts society also, being the owners of the Wolveschildren Art Space gallery directly next door. Often functions held there will spill over into the bar and when it does the place gets even friendlier.

One time I was at the bar in

It all starts with enthusiasm, a desire to express yourself through music. The technicalities of working complex programs like Ableton are easily overcome with the right guidance and supervision. Musical training helps but is not a prerequisite. Our course covers some basic music theory that is specific to the needs of programmed music. Then there is

March and they had Spektraflash Vintage Event Lighting catering to the band room, with four different oil wheel lights set up providing a psychedelic effect to the room and band playing (the band was The Electric SunKings, so extremely suitable lighting). The Wolveschildren Art Space recently displayed the Skate or Die: Group Skate Deck Exhibition exhibiting many different skateboard decks brandishing designs from a variety of skaters and artists.

So if you’re looking for a new local to attend and discover many different artists, musicians and generally interesting people, try out The Eastern one night and relax with a drink by the fire, or make the journey next door and bear witness to some inspiring local art. You won’t regret it.

The Eastern can be found on Facebook at ‘facebook. com/easternballarat’.

The Wolveschildren Art Space can also be found on Facebook at ‘facebook.com/wolveschildren’.

the equipment: the computer, the software, and audio interface, a midi controller, and headphones. There is a vast amount of gear out there that can facilitate electronic music production and this is one aspect that a novice may find daunting. Doing our Cert II course gives you the chance to see how a full working set up operates, and we can

advise students on an individual basis as to what their own requirements would be.

What advice would you give someone who is beginning to create electronic music?

Ableton Live is essentially a new kind of musical instrument, one that contains vast resources of sonic possibility, one that

has its own technical requirements to operate it with assurance, just like any other instrument.

Although Ableton requires a certain skill set, it is unlike traditional instruments such as the piano that requires practice and dedication over many years to become an accomplished pianist. If you want to get involved in electronic music the best thing you

can do is to invest in the right equipment and find a suitable course to start off your learning experience.

Oxygen College’s Electronic Music Production course commences in midJuly. For more course information or enrolment details visit oxygencollege.com.au or call 1300 195 303.

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What’s On at The Eastern: Thursday, 26th June – Adam Carrol and Corey Cozza, followed by Open Mic. Friday, 27th June – 23rd of Elvis.

Saturday, 28th June – DEAD, Tsugnarly and Onion Engine.

Sunday, 29th June – Free live music from 3 p.m.

Thursday, 3rd July – Dave Savage, followed by Open Mic. Friday, 4thJuly – DJ Bren.

Saturday, 5th July – Michael Plater, Pioneers of Good Science, Matt Malone, Cabin Inn, The Mersons and 23rd of Elvis.

Sunday, 6thJuly – Free live music from 3 p.m.

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

CHINGY local feature STORY Written by Wylie Caird

Among the celebrities who have admitted to bravely tapping their name into Google’s search engine is Reese Witherspoon, who said: “I know what I’m in for. You never read anything positive… You’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re tired, you’re worthless, you don’t have a career anymore, you’re a bad actor. It’s just an affirmation of every horrible feeling you have about yourself.” Though she admitted to such behaviour only during darker times, the web and anonymity has bred a playground for the cruellest of personal attacks, something that has been well documented. Then there are those who find themselves the centre of a death rumour – and they’re in a league of their own.

When&Where: The Pier, Geelong – July 10

“People saying I died is totally ignorant,” says Howard Bailey, Jr., otherwise known as Chingy, when Forte queried his own death rumours. “They only said that ’cause they haven’t seen a video clip on the top 10 countdown or heard my song on the radio constantly. I think people like to create their own story of you in their story world an’ title you as they see fit. Doesn’t make it true though.”

Indeed it does not, but detractors will probably point to Chingy’s 2003 monster ‘Right Thurr’ to support their cause. His debut single, ‘Right Thurr’, with its up-beat tempo and summery feel, was one of those songs that hit at the perfect time. Soon it was filling the dance floor and blasting from car stereos, while every second person seemed to be doing their best ‘thurr’ impersonation. It finished the year at the #7 spot on Billboard’s Top 100 Songs of 2003.

‘Right Thurr’, along with its accompanying album Jackpot, also pocked him a $3 million first cheque according to an interview with DJ Whoo Kid late last year.

While those heights may not have been again reached, Chingy has been hard at work over the years since. His sixth album is No Risk No Reward, the follow-up to his 2010 independent album, Success & Failure.

Prior to that was Hate It or Love It (2007), then a beef with label Disturbing tha Peace seemingly closed the door. It led to a time of soul-searching, which ultimately led to No Risk No Reward, an apt title for a man that could have faded away but still feels has a lot to give. “No Risk No Reward was a project that I was working on, but the name has changed several times. I’ve jus’ been paying more attention to my inner-self and figuring out how to better myself and judgement towards others and become a better being.”

A ten-year plus stretch since his debut has seen a lot of change in the music industry, and like his reflections on life that brought about his latest album, Chingy muses on an everchanging industry that isn’t always for the best. “I’ve been in the music biz professionally ‘quote unquote’ for 10 years now so I’m an OG, ha-ha! I believe the music biz changed a lot far as social media goes and technology.

Reason being is because now the music is so easier to get that the people don’t really look forward to your project dropping unless they’re diehard fans. Also, you have to keep up with posting things about yourself and getting very private with the world nowadays jus’ to have a connection with the people and to me that takes away the excitement of the artist.”

Part of Chingy’s newfound philosophy on life could be attributed to his Kemetian Sciences studies at the University of Kemetian Sciences. Founded by Dr Phillip Valentine, the Kemetian University encourages students to discover their true roots. More cryptically, at the University of Kemetian Sciences, “the mission is mastery, and the quest of mastery is the ultimate mission”, according to the University’s website. “I study Kemetian Sciences; it’s the original word for Egyptian,” explains Chingy. “If I weren’t a musician I would have prolly been into science or history or something of that nature. I’m real big on history and science, because in school it jus’ interest me to know what humanity comes from and how we operate internally.”

His studies, no doubt mixed with a little life experience, become evident when he speaks about his time in the game. “I’ve learned lots of things in this business, so I would say my content today is a lot more mature than usual, jus’ because my views on different subjects have changed and allowed me to see within and not jus’ on the surface of things.”

His self-growth becomes more evident still when he speaks about his previous label, Disturbing tha Peace. “I love and still support DTP; I don’t let business get personal, though some people do. Full Dekk [formerly Slot-ALot Records, founded by Chingy in ’04] is my label an’ we’re independent, but we work very hard an’ will continue to push hard whether we sell millions of records or don’t sell one.”

“For the future I jus’ wanna continue to make music whether it sells or not. Speaking of that, download Fulldekk Fullosiphy [a mixtape from ‘Chingy Jackpot’ and friends] on chingyjackpot.com, along with my new single ‘Damn Girl’. I jus’ wanna live and continue to be filled with light in anything I do. If life takes me to the moon then that’s where I’ll be; if life provides me with another hit record that’s what it will be.”

With that, all there is to really talk about is Australia. “The Aussie crowd has always treated me with kindness! Every show since 2004 are always great an’ full of energy. I can’t thank Aussies enough, I love them to death ... I love Australia and the people.

The rappers are good – some perform at my shows when I come.

“Although, I will say I want to meet Santos Bonacci there one day. He’s a great free-thinker and philosopher. Great guy with great wisdom.”

We could all hope to be in such a good a place as Chingy.

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Tavern & Brewery

restaurant feature Written by Amanda Sherring. Photos

by Amanda Sherring & supplied by venue*

Before Little Creatures Brewery was in South Geelong, there was a little family-run business that arguably started the craft beer revolution in Geelong. That little place is the Odyssey Bar & Tavern on Torquay Rd that, with the guidance of owner Grant, has been serving up fine beers and ciders, along with live music, to locals for over two years. And they’ve served up quite a few, as each week they rotate through eight beers on tap and regularly have up to 70 beers to choose from in the fridge.

While they may have quite a few craft beers at their disposal, including a pale ale (The Calypso) and summer ale of their own, the drink is all about the experience.

“Craft beer isn’t about quantity, it’s about quality. It’s about showcasing that there’s much more to beer than just plain old lagers,” says Grant.

The great craft at Odyssey isn’t limited to what’s at the bar, as the venue has several live music nights that feature great local acts, something they have built and adapted to demand over two and a half years. The newest music event is the Sunday O’ Suns that happens every Sunday. Just like their beers and ciders, the artists are carefully selected for their ability and atmosphere they create in the small, but cosy, venue.

To help him on his quest to the

30 forte

perfect balance, Grant has enlisted Sydney-born musician Sam Fletcher to create the ultimate line-up.

Together, the duo is giving local musicians the chance to share some of their own music, whilst giving punters the chance to hear live and original songs.

“We’re trying to give the artists a voice, to give the artists a personality. We’re doing more than just putting them in the corner and getting them to play music,” Grant says.

Sam wholeheartedly agrees, adding that it’s about being able to strike the balance between background music and being the centre of attention. “It’s about becoming part of the atmosphere and not being the focus of the attention. It can still be powerful, and still be moving in a subtle way,” says Sam. Sam knows first-hand about this balance as he began playing as a musician at Odyssey just over a year ago and has just recently taken on the role of music manager/ booker as well.

“In my head I’m a musician and thinking music, but now I’m also thinking in terms of a broader perspective of how it fits in terms of what the establishment is trying to achieve and what the artists are about. It’s quite interesting and I’m learning quite a bit,” says Sam. Although Odyssey has been known for its live music for a while now, The new partnership is proving to be a good thing, with crowds flocking through Odyssey’s doors even during the colder months –

and when the Cats are storming Kardinia Park. While this can be pinned to their quality craft beers, top-notch meals and live music, its main credit and sucsess is the overall experience the Odyssey team delivers.

“We’ve changed a lot of perceptions about hospitality and service and the overall experience that people get when they have a meal and have a drink,” says Grant.

This hasn’t just happened overnight, and the team’s success is due to their loyal customers and the immense help friends and family has given them, who they are eternally thankful of.

“You almost feel guilty at times because you can’t fully thank the

people who have helped create what you’ve dreamt of,” says Grant.

If there’s any way to say thank you, it’s for Odyssey to keep achieving bigger and better things and proving that the help from those around them hasn’t gone to waste. Sam has his eye on hosting international acts, while Grant plans to perfect the fitout of the venue.

Either way, Odyssey will stay true to what it is, and always has been.

“We are a restaurant, a craft beer and cider venue and a place for live music, and we’re all of those things in one. It’s all a big balance, it’s not one or the other,” says Grant. “A place that’s working really hard to offer an experience that I think no one else really offers in the region. “

When&Where: Odyessy offers Live Music every week Thursday through to Sunday O’ Suns – Sundays from 1 p.m.

FREE CLASSIFIEDS Send your info to editorial@fortemag.com.au Individual use only, not for commercial purposes Experienced 22 y/o singer, songwriter, guitarist looking for

B ENDIG O

A n cho r & t h e B u t t e r fly No t h i n g t o W i n No t h i n g t o L os e Written by Darlene Taylor, Images: Mick Griffin

A visit to a DVD store resulted in me returning home with a CD by a local act instead of a copy of the Steve Coogan movie I had planned to borrow. Trying to find a link between a film featuring the hilariously awful Alan Partridge and an alternative country folk duo is not possible, although Coogan does allow his character to have moments of melancholy.

The debut album by Anchor & the Butterfly, Nothing to Win Nothing to Lose, is so exquisitely sad that a few seconds into the first song I was filled with joy at what I was hearing from singer-songwriter Bridget Robertson and Lance Hillier (guitar, mandolin, bass etc.). Perhaps it takes a fan of performers like Leonard Cohen and Jennifer Warnes to realise how glorious it can be to listen to poetic songs articulated by a distinctive voice and backed by a reflective musical accompaniment.

Unsurprisingly, the video for the first track, ‘A Lone Star’, employs the intriguing but not exactly upbeat services of Kain White. The local animator’s work has previously been seen in a clip by local hardcore metal act Abreact and his style seems suitable for any group that is not frivolous.

While an album’s worth of tracks can result in instances of sameness, as it sporadically does here, at its best anchor & the butterfly’s release is an accomplished effort that proves being thoughtful still has a place in music.

Of particular note in this strong collection is the catchy ‘Mexico City’, the sweet ‘Leaking Heart’ and the ominous ‘Low’.

Bendigo’s music scene is probably similar to scenes existing in other towns of a similar size. A number of venues present workaday cover bands, with the most popular the go if you are fond of Bryan Adams, bored husbands on the prowl and drinks with names that have probably been sexualised (e.g. Wet Pussy shots) to amuse teenagers. Fortunately, places

like the Gold Dust Lounge put on lots of cover bands but attract a more sophisticated crowd, while bands such as Annie Smalls and the Mustache Ride offer versions of other people’s songs that are not ordinary at all.

It is oft-said there is only three – or perhaps currently two and a half – venues in town that stage original live music; however, this assertion does not acknowledge that artists performing their own folk, experimental or blues songs actually play music. Notable moments have occurred in the environs of the Goldmines Hotel and the Old Fire Station, including star-to-be Grim Fawkner appearing at the former venue and Deano Stanton and crew making all sorts of noises during a feast of improvisation at the latter.

Nevertheless, the most memorable gig I have been to since moving here nearly two years ago occurred at the end of last month at The Music Man Megastore. It was a showcase of original – AC/ DC cover versions aside – hard rock/punk/rock/alt music from the likes of Rabid Zulu, Tequila Mockingbyrd, Necron 99, Neurotik Trendz and Brace for Whiplash.

Queens of Noize was a night dominated by loud and lippy females and an audience that played right along (e.g. dancing, singing, joining a conga line and getting up on stage). For the nostalgic it might have recalled the days when live music was less well behaved and more fun than staying at home watching a DVD.

a drummer, bassist and lead guitarist to start up an original rock band based in Geelong. Influences: QOTSA, Sublime & Dave Grohl. Contact Tom at: 0487067083 Heavy metal/death metal vocalist & lyricist looking to

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We are coming close to completion of the 31 track demo and are looking for people who can sing (all styles) to contribute to certain tracks, please don’t hesitate to call for more information. Call Matt on 0468632012 Drummer Available

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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 Guitarist & Keyboard Player Wanted for

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forte 31

Queenscliff Music Festival 2014 Written by Tex Miller

It is with great excitement that I can announce the first line-up of the 2014 Queenscliff Music Festival. Chances are that some of the people reading this article will have already heard the first announcement which took place last Friday; however, this year sees Perfect Tripod, The Jezabels, Kasey Chambers and D.D Dumbo coming to the festival for the first time and Xavier Rudd and The Church returning for the first time since the early 2000s.

Most recently, the music festival had a fundraiser at the Point Lonsdale Town Hall which saw Stonefield, The Bombay Royale and Yirrmal and The Yolngu Boys give us a little taste of what to expect over the last weekend in November. 2014 sees a new era of the festival, with the appointment of new director Andrew Orvis. Chatting ahead of the line-up announcement, Orvis is very excited about this year’s event and the direction that it is headed in.

One of the most exciting bands that took to the stage at the fundraiser a few weeks back was Geelong’s own Sweethearts who have over the years created a lot of buzz around the local scene with their own brand of soul music, despite their youthful presence. “The Sweethearts probably blew everyone away. James Young from Cherry Bar told

them that they are the best soul band in Melbourne, and that’s something in comparison to the Bamboos and the like. They rip. They are all fantastic and every act that played at the fundraiser was fantastic in their own, and we had a great crowd as well.”

Pondering the question whether Stonefield are headliners to this year’s event, Orvis relates that this year will be a little different with every band given an equal billing on the line-up this time around. “Everybody has their own place on the line-up for a reason, and I hate the whole kind of headliner thing. People talk about big bands selling the majority of the tickets to a festival, but I think the festival and the experience itself is what drives sales. There are bands that you would consider a headliner in previous years, but it’s all about good music,” Orvis said.

Within the next five months in the lead up to the festival, there is set to be six line-up announcements with a variety of different bands and genres on the bill. One of the main changes to the physical layout of the festival is the running of three stages: the Lighthouse

When&Where: Queenscliff – November 28-30

(main stage), Hippos (secondary stage) and the inclusion of Glaneuse Stage, which will offer completely different experiences to the festival punter. In previous years, the Pelican Bar has been sectioned off from the food court precinct of the festival; however, this year the Glaneuse Stage will be an

immersive experience including craft beer and fine wine, offering a different vibe to the mix.

If you’ve been to Queenscliff Music Festival before, you will undoubtedly know that it is a blissful coastal getaway and a must do experience.

“The bands on the whole bill have to make sense and gel and I think that is what I’m

trying to achieve this year. The beauty of Queenscliff is to be able to put a legendary Australian band like The Church on the same bill as Hiatus Kaiyote and The Bombay Royale. I look forward to announcing many more bands in the next few months, so keep an eye out.”

Blues Boot Camp Written by Tex Miller

There’s no doubt that Angus and Julia Stone is one of the biggest folk-rock duos in the world (and will return with a new album in August).

However, before we get too carried away, before all of the stardom and acclaim to their music, Angus Stone was just sitting around in his bedroom writing some of their biggest hits. If it wasn’t for Julia getting the duo out to open mic nights and eventually getting a record deal, we may never have heard of their music. If you are a young local musician in the same sort of scenario, be sure to bookmark Blues Boot Camp in your calendar, which is set to take place at Courthouse ARTS on the 2nd and 3rd of July.

Having been involved with the Blues Boot Camp for a few years now, I cannot recommend it enough. Although you may not have heard of the tutors, they are some of the biggest names in the blues and roots scene in Australia. To get the opportunity to work alongside them is simply incredible and provides you with invaluable experience as a performer. For those uninitiated as to what Blues Boot Camp is, it is a two-day workshop which allows for like-minded young musicians to come together to put on a two-hour performance at the end of the workshops.

The songs for the concert are chosen by the participants who, together with the tutors, work through the material, no matter the genre or

playing ability of the participant. The most rewarding experience for me has definitely been throwing some of my original material into the mix and seeing it reworked in so many different ways. The tutors are more than willing to jump up on a track and add in their part to the song to fill it out, and having world-class musicians alongside you on stage at such an early part of your career is quite a pinch yourself moment.

As well as getting to hang out with other like-minded musicians, the other cool factor to Bootcamp is being able to make friends with everyone around you, no matter how good they are at their instruments. As a result of the Bootcamp, there has been a few musicians form bands and start gigging around the region, and one of the main reasons that I love it is that any musician between the ages of 12 and 26, no matter of their musical ability, is encouraged to attend.

More often than not, the least experienced musicians are sometimes the most fun to work with. From my perspective, being a seasoned performer allows me to think outside

When&Where: Courthouse ARTS – July 2-4 (workshops + performance)

of the box in terms of arrangement of the song we are working on. Over the time that I have been involved, two of the greatest performances have to be either performing Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’ with a six-piece female vocal

harmony or Vance Joy’s chart-topping hit ‘Riptide’.

With everybody working together to put on the performance, it’s refreshing to see musicians work outside their comfort zone to add extra instrumentation to one piece

Geko Q&A

On his SoundCloud page he is described as “an enigma, wrapped in a mystery; immersed in weed smoke. He is Geko, aka Phil Gektor, a purveyor of a sacred Lingua Franca long forgotten”. After reading that, we just had to get to know him a little better…

Hey Geko, thanks for taking some time out to have a chat with Forte. First off, for anyone not familiar with who you are, can you introduce yourself and tell us what it is you do?

I’m a producer, rapper and sound engineer working with Crate Cartel records.

You also roll under the guise of ‘Phil Gektor’ these days. Tell us about the name change.

Are we talking to Geko or Phil today?

I don’t know exactly what the deal is there. It just sort of happened. I wrote a song about producers that tote guns – it kind of came from that I think.

You are part of the infamous ‘Crate Cartel’, something which you started many years ago. However, your role has somewhat changed of late. Tell us about how your position at CC has changed over time.

I’m really just an artist now. I used to help people on the label with their projects a lot and organise pressings, merch tours etc. Now Discourse has taken over all of that and has really stepped it up. I’ve been enjoying making music a lot more without the business.

You have just released ‘Real Heads Don’t Listen’, 32 forte

the newest effort in a long line of titles. Tell us a bit about the project.

It’s actually the second time I’ve done a full self- produced solo. It’s always a bit more full-on because you’re so responsible for the end product. It really made me try a bit harder. I think it’s a good project and is in its own space, insofar as nothing coming out really sounds like it. Not that I know of anyway.

Listening to RHDL, there is a distinct feel to the album. Without coming across as ‘abstract’, it’s got a real ‘I have found what I am comfortable doing’ vibe. Is that something that you felt while making the album?

I think just doing music a lot over the years you experiment with different things, you get more strings in your bow and your music can become more expansive. Also, not having a style that is ever really going to see mainstream success. I’m really not fussed about all that so I’m comfortable to just do what I want to do.

Is there a message behind the title of the album?

There are many messages. It’s a very deep title. It’s all about respect for people who just pursue their “thing” regardless of what other people do or tell them.

Release: Real Heads Don’t Listen is out now

Tell us about the features on there.

There is one feature with Flu [aka Fluent Form]. And my mate Tommo “Skwid” Parker helped out with cuts, some live instrumentation and sung a hook on ‘Steppenwolf ’.

You are one of Australia’s finest hip hop producers, having contributed to some of Australia’s biggest releases.

How is the balance between producing and spitting these days for you?

Thanks for the compliment. Producing

or another. Tune up your guitar and get out of the bedroom. Although initially you may be scared of joining in on the concert, it’s well worth it. A very inviting and warm environment, head down to join in on all the fun.

is my main thing – not just making beats, I love bringing songs together.

The rapping is just the easiest way I can try to do that without being dependent on others.

The word ‘recluse’ gets thrown around a bit where Geko is concerned. Is that something you are comfortable with? Will you be stepping out to tour this album?

People can say what they like – I don’t really feel anyway about it. I have good friends outside the music scene and have friends to do music with in CC. I’d rather spend my time with family and my friends rather than trying to be down with every rapper.

It seems like a lot of folks are so concerned with socialising and trying to be liked and tweeting that the music is almost secondary. I do music because I like music, not musicians.

Can you tell us a bit about where your stable mates are at ATM – Flu, Maundz, Raven etc.

What’s happening at CC HQ? Everyone is working on new music which should emerge in the not too distant future.

Anything you would like to add or mention?

Yeah, thanks to all the heads checking for the album. The response has been really good for this one and it’s given me nice feelings. So thanks for that. And thanks for the interview.

Forte Columns

too heavy to hug Written by Paul S Taylor

blues news pop culture!

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

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the origin of the blues down in the south of the USA. The other major style of blues arose in Chicago at the time of the Great Depression. The depression began in 1929 and there is argument as to when it finished.

Those at the top of the heap say it lasted about five years, but for most people it didn’t end until World War II in 1939. Being a soldier was the first full-time job many had. I could go on about conservative politicians blaming the unemployed for being unemployed, but that’s an old song.

The south of the USA was massively hit by the depression. Crop prices fell by about 60 per cent and rural unemployment was epidemic – plenty to write some blues about. The feeling was that there were better times to be had in the north of the USA. At least racism was not so bad – the Klan didn’t ride in Chicago. A general drift began from the south to the north, especially Chicago, which, with its massive stockyards and steel mills, was thought to have jobs.

In a city environment, if there was no industrial employment, no farms at all, an unskilled worker who could sing could at least live by busking. One of the key places where this happened was Maxwell Street which had a large openair market where you could buy and sell pretty much anything. The major record companies, such as Paramount Records, RCA Victor, and Columbia Records, got blues musicians at bargain rates and gained them international exposure.

Later, local record labels sprang up – Bluebird, Cobra, Delmark, Alligator, and the famous Chess Records.

The honour roll of Chicago blues players includes many of the best known blues players and singers such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush, Luther Allison, Jimmy Rogers, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley, Mike Bloomfield, Homesick James, Floyd Jones, Mighty Joe Young, Elmore James, Little Walter, Charlie Musselwhite, Paul Butterfield, Junior Wells, Otis Spann, Lafayette Leake, Blind John Davis and Erwin Helfer.

Never heard of them? Hit YouTube and prepare to be entranced.

Chicago blues was a crucible for the development of rock and roll.

Chuck Berry originally signed with Chess Records. Keith Richards met Mick Jagger when Keith saw him with a blues album on a railway station.

As well as the Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix, Cream and Rory Gallagher were all influenced

by Chicago blues musicians such as Big Bill Broonzy, Son House, Willie Dixon and Muddy Waters.

In the 1970s, the image of Chicago and blues was once again thrust into the limelight with the film The Blues Brothers which had a host of amazing musicians either as main cast or playing cameo roles. The core of the Blues Brothers Band was Booker T. and the M.G.’s. If you listen to meanderings on 94.7 the Pulse, their theme is the M.G.’s hit from years ago, ‘Green Onions’.

Other major musicians in the film included Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan. Incidentally, the clerk in the Cook County Assessor’s Office was Steven Spielberg!

Musically, this is certainly one of the most amazing films ever made.

Most Chicago blues musicians started out busking, then playing for house parties, then in gigs at proper venues. Sound familiar?

Written by Anthony Morris

A funny thing happened a month or so ago: we had a week where no new movies were released. Well, there were new movies out there somewhere, if you were willing to travel to Melbourne to one of the smaller or arthouse cinemas, but as far as big new releases at the mainstream cinemas? Nothing.

The plan had been for the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Sabotage to be released that week, but after a lacklustre box office performance in the USA distributor Roadshow decided to cut their losses and send it direct to DVD. On the one hand that wasn’t exactly surprising: Schwarzenegger’s previous film Escape Plan (with Sylvester Stallone) hadn’t made it to Australian cinemas after fizzling in the US, and while the film before that – The Last Stand – had made it to local cinemas, it had been a dud. On the other hand, Schwarzenegger’s co-star was “Australia’s own” Sam Worthington.

If you’ve ever wondered why some obviously below-par American films still somehow manage to get a release here, take a look at the cast list because chances are somewhere in there (though usually pretty close to the top) you’ll find an Australian name. We may not have much of a mainstream film industry in this country, but we try to make up for it by screening as much foreign product with local actors as we can – and when they don’t make it out here (like the 2012 Guy Pearce space prison action movie Lockout) that’s a pretty big sign that they’re not all that good.

So the forces pushing for and against a cinema release for Sabotage were evenly matched until it tanked at the box office, which explains why it was pulled at the (relatively speaking) last minute. But that meant that for pretty much the only time this year, we had a week with no major new releases on at cinemas.

Worse, the decidedly below-par Transcendence (you remember, Johnny Depp uploads his brain) had been the only release the week before, leaving it as the only halffresh item on the shelf.

It’s been obvious for a long time now that there are certain times of the year when movie distributors just don’t want to release decent movies, leaving movie-goers with long stretches with nothing much to hold their attention, followed by the “serious” times (such as right now) when the studios all put out their big guns that no one else would dare go up against, leaving us with even more long stretches where there’s only one new release movie a week.

So if you didn’t relish the chance to see Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in Blended a fortnight ago, tough: that was the only big release that week. Last week it was 22 Jump Street; if you picked this copy of Forte up the day it was released, Transformers 4 was the only big movie to hit cinema screens. Sure, if you live close to Melbourne, or your local cinema programs the occasional smaller effort, you might have a bit more choice; otherwise, if you like watching movies on the big screen, for the foreseeable future here’s hoping you like them big and loud.

To somewhat little fanfare, the seemingly understated and conservative UK Metal Hammer Golden God Awards ceremony for 2014 was held the other day.

I’m not entirely sure if the statue winners were decided by a public vote but looking at the winners list, and considering the mag would encourage reader participation, the winners aren’t much different to recent publicly-voted award winners. Amongst the awards, Behemoth took out the ‘Album of the Year’; the ‘Dimebag Darrell Shredder’ award went to Periphery’s Misha Mansoor; ‘Best UK Band’ went to Iron Maiden; ‘Best Live Band’ was taken out by Killswitch Engage; ‘Best International Band’ went to Avenged Sevenfold; and Mikael Akerfeldt was named ‘Golden God’. FYI, ‘Best New Band’ didn’t go to Twelve Foot Ninja but a band called Devil You Know.

It’s hard to compare this UK awards ceremony to the recent US ceremony, mainly because Metal Hammer didn’t appear to stream the event. Notable differences include the absence of Axl Rose from the UK event, but to make up for it the UK event included a boat ride up the Thames on the Vans HMS Hammer, which sounds pretty wicked, but the audience consisted of 200 or so competition winners and VIPs. 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.

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

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

Perth prog-rockers Voyager will play The Workers Club on Saturday, July 12.

Corrosion of Conformity and special guests Lo! were to play 170 Russell St on Sunday, July 20 but

Punk!

Written by Christopher Cruz

So this issue we’re gonna shake things up a bit and focus on Australian bands for a change. The internationals ain’t goin’ anywhere, and I’ll give ‘em a burl next time!

Geelong three-piece rock/pop/ grunge/punk combo SPIDEY have dropped their new full-lengther Disappointingly Weird, and it’s a corker. The lo-fi recording works in the record’s favour, as a crisp, clean recording would diminish the warm tone that permeates the album.

Another thing I dig about this record, is that it wasn’t what I expected.

While many female-fronted bands in this genre veer into Sonic Youth/ Veruca Salt/Hole/Breeders territory, SPIDEY, to MY ears, have a bit of an English vibe, at times recalling bands like The Cranberries, The Buzzcocks, even Oasis at times, while still retaining an Aussie pub rock sound. Very nice! Standout tracks for me were ‘Valium Biscuit’ and album closer, ‘So Gone’. Hell yeah!

Local lads Culzean will be playing one last show on Thursday, July 17 at The Rev in Footscray with fellow locals The Variants (featuring two

that has recently been cancelled.

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

Neurosis will play The Corner Hotel on Thursday, August 7.

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

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

DevilDriver will be at 170 Russell on Sunday, September 7.

John Garcia will play The Espy’s Gershwin Room on Friday, September 12.

Cannibal Corpse will play 170 Russell on Friday, September 12.

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

Sepultura will be at 170 Russell on Friday, October 3.

Gorguts will play Northcote Social Club on Friday, November 14.

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

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

Body Count will release their new album, Manslaughter, later this year.

If you have any news about local metal bands, shows or albums, let THTH know by emailing to tooheavytohug@ hotmail.com or get in touch via Twitter at @TooHeavyToHug members of Culzean!) and Hopes Abandoned. Frontman Jake Epiphone will soon be moving to Brisbane to embark on the next chapter of his journey. Be there or be square.

Ipswich, Queensland thrash-punk combo Antichrists Anonymous are making their mark on the scene in a big way, scoring a support slot with the Hard-Ons and making their way to number one on ReverbNation’s Australian punk chart. Bassist Jim Bopalouie is no stranger to Forteland, having played both Geelong and Melbourne on tour as part of Brisbane legends The Unprettier. Look ‘em up! Now! Local punks The Half Pints may or may not have a show coming up. Go to their Facebook page and suss it out for yourself !

Melbourne modern rock/ punk/grunge combo Death by Death Ray has officially called it quits. Do bands really stay broken up anymore, anyway?

Sydney Ramonescore superstars Batfoot! have started writing material for their next record. Woohoo!

That means another round of shows in Forte territory! Speaking of Ramonescore legends, Ballarat lads The Savages have something in the works too! Stay tuned for more soon!

And check out The Revengers from Bendigo, featuring members of The Worthingtons!

Massive punk rock shows coming up at the Barwon Club – The Vibrators (UK) on June 22nd with Speed Demons, Batpiss, Town Hall and Foot Soldier, while July 6th sees the arrival of Adolescents (USA) with guests The Bennies, Batpiss, The Kremlings, Wolfpack, The Go Set and Japan for. Yowsa!

Until next time, kids – stay cool!

le monde entier Written by Madelin Baldwin lemondeentier.net

If you’re after a town that’s huge with all of the high street stores you could imagine, whilst still retaining the quintessential English feel, then Leeds in Yorkshire, England is that place.

Leeds, in a 2011 survey of the urban area, had over 1.7 million people living there! They operate a one-way driving system through town, which I suppose was implemented to help people but to me seems to make things a little harder than they should be! With the smaller English streets though, and roads that turn into pavements, it seems to keep the traffic in order.

Getting there by motorway or by train is easy. Leeds railway station is in the centre of town and if you walk not 50-100 metres out of it you’ll be sure to hit your first of many Primark’s. Although it is teeming to the brim with Topshop, River Island and Next to name just a small few of the brand stores around, it keeps its English feel with them being situated in all of the original buildings and architecture that gives Leeds a homely feeling. There are rows of tall brick buildings, cathedrals, clock towers and old dome-shaped establishments filling and making up the streets – and of course a pub or two on every corner.

We arrived in the late morning and set off through the Leeds Centre Market. We parked in a huge storey car park next to them, which cost over 10 pounds for less than four hours, so I certainly suggest finding one of the four pound all day parking lots! The markets have an outside and an inside market, selling everything from produce to phones, flowers and clothes. Once outside, you have your choice to wander into any H&M, Primark and more. There are your typical Starbucks coffee shops, but also a lot of little local places to buy lunch, and dark little pubs to enjoy a local ale or two.

As mentioned previously, Leeds also has Jamie Oliver’s Italian Restaurant, which I can say firsthand is amazing!

From the decor to the service, to the food itself, you pretty much can’t go wrong if you wander into here.

Unfortunately, Jamie won’t be cooking for you, but there’s always hope…

On top of that there is an award-winning Cross Keys gastro pub, Shaky Jakes ‘50s style diner for every flavour of milkshake known to man, and if you fancy a bit of history with your pint, try Whitelock’s. It’s the oldest pub in Leeds and dates back to 1715.

Leeds has a large entertainment history and current vibe to it, so if you’re there in November head to the annual Leeds International Film Festival. There are also heaps of theatres around, like the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the biggest one outside of London!

Just outside of the Leeds railway station is the huge, majestic Queens Hotel. As far as the eye can see, it takes over at least one whole block of white brick building.

It’s popular among travellers and locals alike, and a guest bedroom overlooking town will only set you back just over 100 pounds, even in peak season (around June). There’s wi-fi, room service and laundry service, so if for some reason you’re too tired to explore the stunning town, you’ll be in fine hands.

pulp Written by Cameron Urquhart and Alastair McGibbon

Cameron: Ave Satani! Hail Satan! And of course his demonic little offspring, Damien Thorn. When people think of director Richard Donner they tend to think of 1978’s Superman, but only two years before that he directed one of the greatest horror films of all time – 1976’s The Omen.

With Friday the 13th having recently passed I was planning on watching one of the Friday the 13th sequels and writing a thematically solid column, but before this could be done I found my wife had never seen The Omen.

That was enough of an excuse to purchase the trilogy on Blu-ray.

This film is pure class – the sterling direction, the beautiful locations of Rome and London, Jerry Goldsmith’s soundtrack and David Seltzer’s frankly terrific screenplay. All of these elements come together in a way that makes other horror films jealous. Although even with all these other parts in place, if it weren’t for Gregory Peck’s turn as Robert Thorn it would have all been for nought. One of the most difficult things about this film is that we’re rooting for a man who is trying to kill his child. While tiny Damien Thorn is said to be the Antichrist, he’s also just a five-year-old who barely understands the world around him. Gregory Peck has to convince the audience that not only is this five-year-old tremendously evil, but that he must die in a rather horrific manner for the good of the world.

Thankfully Peck carries over a lot of the trust he built as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and one can’t help but see him as the kindest and wisest father to ever exist. Even with knives in hand.

The Omen trilogy is transferred beautifully to Blu-ray and I highly recommend you see it if you haven’t before. Or if you have, do you really need an excuse to buy a better looking copy?

Alastair: It’s no secret that occasionally bands will go overboard when it comes to merchandise and tie-in products (I’m looking at you, Rammstein, you crazy Germans).

When you’re talking about concept albums, however, things get interesting: if the concept is engaging and immersive enough, the tie-ins can work really, really well – especially if said tie-in is a comic book.

Back in 2010, My Chemical Romance put out what was to be their final studio album – Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Set in the dystopian wasteland that was once California, the album’s music videos told the story of the infamous outlaws, the Killjoys, as they battled the nefarious Better Living Industries corporation.

Set ten years after the Killjoys’ last stand, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys follows the Killjoys’ young companion, the Girl, as she continues the fight against BLI and comes to terms with her new status as a saviour.

Written by MCR’s singer Gerard Way and Shaun Simon, the book is a fantastic expansion of the established Killjoys world, and a great example of alternative sci-fi. The two have crafted a Mad Max style universe where technology is enslaving the population, and death is everywhere. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of sci-fi/western dystopias, and Killjoys fits right into that niche.

What really shines about this book, however, is Becky Cloonan’s art. The colour splashed through this book is intense; even the scenes in the desert are saturated with it. In contrast, the scenes in the city are stark white, clinical and futuristic. It’s a weird, brutal world, but it works really well. One for MCR fans and sci-fi nuts alike! forte 33

Refining the Palette

L IVING W IT H C O L O U R :

MORGAN C ONNOLEY Written by Amanda Sherring

At Last – The Etta James Story

Oozing colour and happiness, Morgan Connoley’s vibrant works are the perfect pieces to adorn your bare walls whilst effortlessly putting a smile on your face. Featuring wolves, typography, pineapples and flamingos, there’s a quirky artwork to suit the plainest or most eccentric of rooms.

Unsurprisingly people love her work, as her pieces have been featured in such glossy magazines as Real Living, Shop, Fashion Journal and Sunday Style magazine. The young artist has also had work displayed in Westfield’s fashion festival, the ANIMALIA exhibition at Courthouse ARTS and at BOOM Gallery.

“I have been blessed with opportunities over the past two years, but I have also worked really hard to make these opportunities come to fruition,” Morgan says.

While Morgan has her own art down pat, she gives what little spare time she has to help out other artists in a small collective called the Geelong Illustrators.

“We aim to inspire each other to high standards of creativity with zero pretentiousness,” she says. “The idea came with the realisation that Geelong had a strong group of amazing illustrative artists whose talent remained untapped.”

It’s a wonder she can put out the high quality work she does when she also works full time as a graphic designer and has just finished building her new home in Ocean Grove.

“My life is super busy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am bored very easily and I thrive on being busy,” she says.

Life wouldn’t be so easy if she didn’t keep the perfect balance: Morgan keeps her diet in check with a weekly meal plan, exercises regularly and goes to bed at 9.30 p.m. (she admits to being a bit of a nanna) to ensure she gets a healthy amount of sleep. However, one of the biggest factors that ensures balance in her life is the support she receives from family and friends.

“I have an amazing network of family and friends who are so incredibly supportive and helpful – especially when things get really hectic,” Morgan says.

While her family may think she works a bit too hard, they couldn’t be prouder of what she has achieved.

“They come along to every exhibition and I definitely could not have been as successful without their love and continued support,” she says.

They have been lucky enough to witness Morgan start selling her artwork at the tender age of 16, to see it develop as an added income as an adult. While Morgan has managed to easily sell her pieces she would never want to rely on it as her sole income. “I don’t think I could ever rely on my art as income. I think that would interfere with the organic process of my creativity,” she says.

It seems that every aspect of Morgan’s life is laced with creativity, but that’s not her only interest in life. “I have always been creative, but I am also really interested in health and nutrition. My sister is an ICU nurse at the Alfred – we’re like chalk and cheese!” she says.

In the meantime, Morgan’s creativity is in perfect condition and she is currently in the process of working on a series of screen prints. Constantly challenging her artistic ability, she’s also just released a series of typography pieces, which is something she’d never really done before.

“I like to keep up with trends and I like to push myself with different mediums to develop my style,” she says.

To see Morgan pushing the boundaries of her artistic ability, visit her facebook (facebook.com/morganconnoleyillustrator) or brighten up your walls with one of her artworks from colourandskulls.com.au.

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In 1938 America had endured a full decade of hardships and economic misery as The Great Depression wreaked havoc across the damaged land. It was to this turbulent backdrop that a fourteen-year-old African American girl gave birth to a baby daughter named Jamesetta Hawkins, but the world would come to know her as Etta. Etta James.

During a long and tumultuous career that saw her win six Grammy Awards and a star on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Etta James has influenced a vast array of artists from Diana Ross, Janis Joplin, Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart and is acknowledged as inspiring the careers of a new generation of singers from Christina Aguilera, Joss Stone, Adele and the late Amy Winehouse.

Sadly Etta’s frantic recording and touring schedule coincided with her ever-growing addiction problems

It’s About One Man and Many People – Brian McKinnon Politically charged works spanning the last decade and informed by

Gaslight

By Patrick Hamilton. Directed

by Melissa Musselwhite.

Jack and Bella Manningham live quietly in a gloomy, unfashionable quarter of London during the latter

and over time she not only sang the blues...she lived the blues. Mercifully, her passion for life and strength of character saw her conquer her demons and she continued to record and perform into her seventies.

Starring the sensational Vika Bull, the smash-hit narrative concert tells the story of soul legend Etta James’ turbulent life and features some of her most beloved songs including: ‘Tell Mama’, ‘Something’s Got A Hold On Me’, ‘Pushover’, the heart rending ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’, her iconic signature song ‘At Last’ and many more.

Vika puts her heart, soul and funk into this unforgettable show and is joined on stage by the sizzling hot The Essential R & B Band.

Barfi! - Bethany Art House Film Festival

The Great War – A Graphic Legacy

Indian with English subtitles

Programmed to coincide with the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, this exhibition brings together works by some of the early 20th century’s finest artists that capture the impact of war from different national perspectives.

Includes prints and drawings by Frank Brangwyn (British), Will Dyson (Australian), Käthe Kollwitz (German), Oskar Laske (German), Norman Lindsay (Australian), and Théophile Steinlen (Swiss/ French), shown in conjunction with paintings by Australian war artist Harold Septimus Power and British painter William Lionel Wyllie.

Three young people learn that love can neither be defined nor contained by society’s norms of normal and abnormal.

Murphy “Barfi” Johnson is an optimistic, street-wise, charming young man who was born deaf-mute.

He is known as a troublemaker, is always ready with a prank up his sleeve and he’s quite the charmer, especially with the ladies!

His bitter-sweet relationship with two beautiful young ladies, Shruti and Jhilmil sets in motion a chain of events that will turn his life upside down! A heart-warming tale of selfless love and finding happiness in the smallest things in life.

Barfi! was India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the 85th Academy Awards.

WHERE: Geelong Gallery.

Little Malop Street, Geelong WHEN: Until 24 August INFO: geelonggallery.org.au

WHERE: GPAC. 50 Little

Malop Street, Geelong

WHERE: Her Majesty’s Theatre.

WHEN: 15 July. 8pm

17 Lydiard Street South, Ballarat

INFO: gpac.org.au

WHEN: 12 July. 8pm

PHONE: 5225 1200

INFO: hermaj.com PHONE: 5333 5888

McKinnon’s early years growing up in Blood Alley, an Aboriginal camp on the outskirts of Geraldton, Western Australia, and over three decades living on Wathaurong land in Geelong. Through paintings that bring together diverse imagery and contemporary references, McKinnon highlights indigenous issues as well as broader social concerns.

Undressed – 350 Years of Underwear in Fashion

WHERE: Geelong Gallery.

Little Malop Street, Geelong WHEN: Until 13 July INFO: www.geelonggallery.org.au

part of the nineteenth century. Jack is taking care of his anxious and troubled wife Bella, who believes herself to be going steadily insane.

One day an unexpected visitor arrives who gives Bella a whole new perspective on her marriage and her sanity. Another cracker of a play from Geelong Rep. WHERE: Woodbin Theatre. 15 Coronation Street, Geelong West WHEN: 4 July-19 July INFO: gpac.org.au PHONE: 5225 1200

Duncan Mcharg - Bootmaker Duncan McHarg is a custom boot and shoemaker, based in Clunes, Victoria. He uses traditional techniques, such as hand making his own threads and hand sewing every seam. This produces very neat, strong and watertight seams.

He also makes his own brass lacing eyelets, and the wax masters for buckles and buttons, which then get cast in bronze or silver.

His boots are made for walkin’.

INFO: artsatlas.com.au/

duncanbootmaker

EMAIL: duncanbootmaker@

gmail.com

The importance of underwear in fashion history cannot be overstated. The majestic shapes of 18th century court dress, the distorted hourglass shapes of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and Dior’s cinched ‘New Look’ were all dependent upon elaborate corsetry, technologically complex petticoats, hoops, and padded underpinnings.

Undressed: 350 years of Underwear in Fashion will feature highlights from the Victoria & Albert Museum’s extensive collection of underwear that dates from 1750 to the present day.

The exhibition looks at the history of private and intimate clothing – from corsets to court mantuas and boudoir wear to bustles - exploring underwear’s function in decorating and manipulating the body.

WHERE: Bendigo Art Gallery.

42 View Street, Bendigo

WHEN: 19 July–26 October INFO: bendigoartgallery.com.au PHONE: 5434 6088

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The Holidays Written by Natalie Rogers

If you’ve seen The Holidays’ latest video clip for ‘Tongue Talk’ (the 3rd single off Real Feel – out now), you may have spotted some familiar faces. Not wanting to namedrop, the always charming and humble frontman, Simon Jones played coy when pressed about the making: “Yeah, it has a fair few cameos in there, mainly friends of the producers that were roped into it! Who can you spot? Even one of the producer’s cameos is in it! With Real Feel we wanted to experiment and make some really interesting clips. It’s been so much fun.”

The electro-pop trio has earned their welldeserved reputation for creating some of the most innovative and creative Australian video clips in recent years. “The way people discover and listen to music has changed. I’ve noticed that when I chat to people after a gig, especially young people, they talk about what they’re listening to on YouTube,” Simon reflected. “I find it kind of funny. To me it’s not really the ideal way to listen to music, but now it seems that song and video go hand in hand, so we’ve been really lucky to be able to make more clips this time round.”

Last time I spoke to The Holidays, Real Feel had yet to be released, though it’s no great surprise that it’s gone on to receive critical acclaim and solid radio support since its release last summer. On the back of this and

an incredibly successful national tour in March, The Holidays are in high demand, with their ability to fill bigger venues every time they head out on the road.

“We’re doing just the east coast cities this run – we play Melbourne on the fourth of July. Playing the Hi-Fi is a dream come true,” Simon admits.

From there our chat inevitably turns to the Aussie music scene’s big, fat elephant in the room: why are all the live music venues closing? Luckily Simon wasn’t afraid to weigh in with his opinion.

“It’s a shame that venues like the East Brunswick Club and the Nash had to close, and the Tote’s been threatening to close for years. ‘Is it a symptom of people not bothering to go to gigs anymore?’

Jones questioned. When we started out rock and roll was the big thing. It was the period of all those guitar bands like The Strokes, Bloc Party and Arctic Monkeys. That music really lends itself to people wanting to watch them live; it has a visceral energy to it. “Now”, Simon explained, “sometimes having a good, solid recording down is more important in terms of getting noticed than playing live. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing but it’s definitely the trend at the moment.

When&Where: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne – July 4

There are a lot of laptop bands around these days. They run the risk of lacking feeling and being boring to look at.”

“With our live shows, although it costs us a lot of money and logistically it’s difficult to do, we make sure we play the whole album. There’s no point in

having computers play half the songs while we stand there and karaoke, you know?” Jones laughed. “We try to make it as real as possible.

We take all our percussion instruments – congas and a full drum kit – along with all our synthesisers that are so heavy and expensive.

But we want to put on a real production,

give people a show. It’s important.”

Catch the “real feel” of The Holidays’ show next month and get in early to check out Thief, the new electronic project of PJ Wolf. “We heard him on triple j and loved his song ‘Broken Boy’.

We’re happy to have him with us.”

Clare Bowditch Written by Paul McBride

If you’re hard pushed to find time to run your business, raise a family and write your next album all at once, what’s the solution?

That’s easy: organise a national tour, invite Adalita along for the ride and let the pieces fall into place by themselves. At least, that’s what Clare Bowditch will be doing with her upcoming Winter Secrets Tour.

“My other project, my business, has been a very incredible but demanding love child,” she says. “But I realised I write my best work after I’ve been talking with the people that I write for, which is my audience.

So I needed to get back out on the road and hang out with them for a bit.”

The Winter Secrets Tour will see her do shows from Tasmania to Queensland through July and August, with the help of an old friend.

“I love Adalita,” Bowditch says. “We’ve worked together at various stages over the years. She’s a real inspiration to me; she’s a great artist who continues to make incredible work, and she’s also very humble, which I definitely wouldn’t be if I was her. She’s insanely accomplished, but she’s also a good mate who makes great music.

“Winter Secrets is very much a show-off and we’ll make sure it’s one of the most memorable nights of your life – but everything’s under wraps until you get there on the night. The nature of Winter Secrets is that there are always lots of surprises.”

Bowditch’s new day job involves her Big Hearted

Business project, which initially was meant to be a small affair, but quickly grew to something substantial.

“I thought it was just going to be a little thing that took a day a week, but it’s been a full-time job for the past nine months,” she says. “Basically, we’re here to teach creative people about business and business people about creativity, and why it makes sense. We make little mini movies called Inspiration Bombs, which are collaborations between artists like Claudia Karvan, Tex Perkins, Imogen Banks and people from different disciplines. We also have an event where we get speakers from all over the world to come.”

It’s been a long two-year wait since her last album, but Clare Bowditch fans won’t have to wait too much longer.

“My way of writing is to gather together at least a hundred sketches or half-finished ideas,” she says. “They’re sitting waiting, and have been for the last six months, and there are more coming every day. Then I dedicate a period of time to whittle them down, which I’ll probably do later in the year.”

Despite having a number of fingers in a number of pies, Bowditch has a strategy to cope with the different demands in her life.

When&Where: Sooki Lounge – July 17 & The Corner – July 18

“My realisation was during the challenge of writing The Winter I Chose Happiness,” she says. “I’ve kind of been challenging myself to slow down for a number of years, and I’ve accepted that when you’re creatively inclined there’s always a degree of chaos in your life, so I’ve made a lot more room for quiet days at home. You come to a point of dynamic

equilibrium with each project; some periods of the year I’m a stay-at-home mum, other periods I‘m touring, other periods I’m working in the office. It certainly keeps it diverse.”

Despite the addition of a national tour and the writing of a new album in Bowditch’s life, anyone thinking the 39-year-old will be putting her feet up needs to think again.

“My friend and I are running a Big Hearted

Business retreat in September, which will be great fun,” she says. “I’ll be playing shows and doing other work in places like Vietnam, as well as Australia.

I’ll be continuing to create Inspiration Bombs with great Australian people and constantly challenging myself to push through my own stories about what it means to be making music.”

ONE YEAR ON...

GEELONG LASER TATTOO REMOVAL Gone are the days where embarrassing tattoos of ex-partners’ names or tramp stamps are forever inked on your skin. Thanks to new laser technology, Jacqui Norton-Bee and the folk at Geelong Laser Tattoo Removal, you can now show your skin with pride.

After almost a year, Geelong Laser Tattoo Removal has fixed the regrets felt by around 100 clients, many with multiple tattoos.

With statistics showing that up to 40 per cent of people regret their tattoos afterwards, business is booming for the local clinic. Though each client is as different as the last, their reason behind getting their tattoo removed or altered is much the same, with regret being the main driving force behind a tattoo’s removal.

“A lot of our clients feel as though they’ve outgrown their tattoo or they just don’t like it anymore,” Jacqui says. “Whatever the reason for wanting the tattoo removed they generally feel regretful, but at least there’s something that can be done about that regret.”

Jacqui has looked after many clients, and there isn’t a tattoo too weird or difficult for her to remove. “I have a client who is in his seventies and has a tattoo on each thigh – one of an island girl and one of a pirate girl. They’re great old-school tattoos that he got in the ’50s when he was in the navy. The problem is 36 forte

that the girls’ legs hang out the bottom of his shorts, so he’s just getting the legs of each girl removed!” Jacqui says.

Her main concern is removing the tattoos or getting them to a point where they can be covered up so that the client can live life without the burden of a cumbersome tattoo. The clinic also removes radiation tattoos for breast cancer survivors, free of charge.

“Some of our older clients say that their tattoos have had a huge impact on their lives; they’re embarrassed of them and have covered them up for years. It’s so pleasing to be able to help them. And for many of our younger clients it’s great to be able to help them toward a career goal (such as the armed forces) that their tattoos are currently preventing,” she says.

Jacqui gets a lot of joy from seeing happy clients, and she can sympathise with them as she is undergoing the same process. “I have a tattoo that I’m in the process of having removed so I can truly sympathise with my clients.

I know how the regret feels, how the treatment feels and also how satisfying it is to see it fading away,” she says.

While the results speak for

themselves, many people are put off by the idea that removal is more painful that getting the original tattoo, which isn’t necessarily true. “I wouldn’t say that it’s more painful. It’s a completely different feeling than being tattooed,” she says. “A palm-sized tattoo can be treated in less than a couple of minutes.

We use a cooling machine which blows out air at -25 degrees to help numb the skin a little, and clients can also apply anaesthetic cream if they want.”

Once the anaesthetic is applied, a laser light passes through the top layer of skin which shatters the tattoo ink particles. These small pieces are disposed of by the lymphatic system, and after a few treatments the tattoo is gone.

So if you’ve been thinking of getting a tattoo removed, head down to Geelong Laser Tattoo Removal and see what can be done for you.

As the clinic approaches its first birthday they will be holding a few celebrations.

Aside from some special offers which can be found via their Facebook ( facebook. com/GeelongLaserTattooRemoval), they’ll be having a special get together with family and friends on June 26, 5-7pm.

INFO: 18 James St, Geelong geelonglasertattooremoval.com.au

forte 37

Inside Splinters

Written by Adem Ali

THE TOP 5 DRAG MUSICAL ACTS OF THE LAST 10 YEARS * THAT AREN’T RUPAUL

ASIA, THE BATPIG Lady Gaga’s new pooch is fast-becoming the biggest star on the planet.

LADY GAGA’S AFRO WIG The best thing to happen to pop culture in 2014.

LANA DEL REY’S ULTRAVIOLENCE Del Rey’s third full-length offering is a mostly brilliant venture into her dark and moody soundscapes. Track-bytrack review next fortnight!

or

International Supermodel of the World RuPaul has been wowing us with her musical prowess since the early ’90s, so it’s a given who the Splinters choice for best drag musical act of recent years may be. Her most recent album, Born Naked, became her most successful on the Billboard charts in years and has spawned many a recording career. And whilst it’s hard to look past sonic gem-makers like Divine for drag-related dance-pop from the late ’70s and early ’80s, it was the music of RuPaul that paved the way for so many drag queens that would come after her. In fact, all of the acts (bar one third of our Number 2 entry) in the Splinters Top 5 became semi-household names courtesy of RuPaul and her hit reality series RuPaul’s Drag Race, which, for those of you unaware and playing at home, is a mixture of America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway – but for Drag Queens.

In the six seasons of Drag Race a number of Queens have stood out above the rest in the recording studio. Let’s count down the Top 5!

cover of AC/DC classic ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ as the b-side. Since then, Courtney’s released a truckload of pop classics, including ‘To Russia with Love’ and her most recent release, the hysterical and Lady Gaga/Kylie Minogue approved ‘Mean Gays’.

NUMBER FIVE:

NUMBER THREE:

Courtney Act THE LATEST X-MEN MOVIE Too much Hugh Jackman and not enough Evan Peters. They may as well have just called the movie Wolverine.

CINEMA ADVERTISING WAIT TIMES 20 MINUTES of advertising before the film even starts – is it any wonder people illegally download movies in place of going to the cinema these days?!

HUGH JACKMAN No thanks, mate.

Australia’s own Caught in the Act is already well known in Australia for being our very own original Drag Superstar, but it wasn’t until the most recent season of Drag Race aired that the rest of the world became exposed to this multi-talented, Aussie blonde bombshell. Back in 2004, Courtney was a Wildcard Entrant for the now defunct Australian Idol. She made it into the finals and, once the show was over, toured the nation as part of the Idol franchise and even released a single, ‘Rub Me Wrong’, which featured a stunning

NUMBER FOUR:

Jinkx Monsoon

Dink Munson won Season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and since then she has hit the ground running. A super-talented actress and a bigvoiced singer, Jinkx recently released her flaw-free debut record The Inevitable Album, a stellar release that even features B52’s member Fred Schneider on guest vocals.

Not only that, Jinkx is going to be the central motif in an upcoming feature-length documentary movie called Drag Becomes Him, planned for release by year’s end.

Raja Gemini Winner of Season 3, RuPaul’s Drag Race queen Raja Gemini has released a swag of fantastic edgy pop songs, with debut single ‘Diamond Crowned Queen’ and most recent release ‘Zubi Zubi Zubi’ being the absolute cream of the crop.

Combining a love of pop, techno and electro music, Raja’s blend of clubkid neo-pop is an acquired taste, but it’s one that’s full of hooks, turns and peaks that are catchier than a VD.

NUMBER TWO:

Detox, Willam and Vicky (DWV) News relating to the groundbreaking pop parody three-piece is coming in thick and fast this week with the announcement the trio has split up.

In typical West Hollywood fashion, the split has festered itself onto the World Wide Web, with two of the three parties taking to social media to vent. DWV’s Vicky Vox and Detox Icunt have declared a ‘dislike’ – and we use that word in place of the many colourful ones the queens actually used – for former bandmate Willam Belli on Twitter and Facebook, with Willam turning to uber-nerd-hub Reddit to confirm the split and, quite hilariously, confirm that all the sub-tweeting and sub-posting was indeed actually about her. In light of this tragic pop split, we highly recommend you soak up the group’s big hits as you join us in our candlelight lament: their Alicia Keys parody ‘Boy is a Bottom’, their own take on Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ (a tribute to Amanda Bynes called, yup, you guessed it – Blurred Bynes), the hysterical ‘Chow Down’, which sings of chicken and gay rights to the tune of Wilson Philips’ ‘Hold On’ and ‘Silicone’, which sings its sweet tune to the melody of Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. We love all three queens from DWV here at Splinters and wish them nothing but the best of success in their solo endeavours, but we’re secretly hoping for reconciliation…

“The Dalai Lana.” @GlennyFromTheB made us dizzy last week when he invented this fantastic new name for moody pop star Lana Del Rey.

NUMBER ONE:

Alaska Thunderfuck With three singles under her belt (all of which are Instant Classics), Alaska Thunderfuck is The Queen of All Queens when it comes to recorded sound. Whether it’s her abrasive first single ‘Trannies Are Fierce (And They Carry Big Guns)’, the rap-tastic, name-dropping ‘Ru Girl’ from last year, or latest single ‘Your Makeup is Terrible’, Alaska knows how to pen a hit.

Not only that, she’s got a real knack for the visual side of things and it shows in her super stylised video for ‘Your Makeup is Terrible’.

We had a chance to meet with Alaska during her Australian tour back in April and she called us her “little grasshopper,” which we thought was quite sweet really.

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38 forte

Honourable Mentions: Adore Delano, Shangela Laquifa Wadley, Pandora Boxx, Manila Luzon, Kelly Mantle, Sharon Needles, Lady Bunny and Tatianna.

Go out and support the dragbased music community, not just globally and through iTunes, but by visiting your local clubs and bars that put on a good drag show. Drag is full of wondrous surprises, incredible dance moves and larger than life personalities – what’s not to love about it?!

In the next issue of Splinters: A track-bytrack review of Lana Del Rey’s latest opus, Ultraviolence.

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FORTE

sc e n e p i x Photos by Marianne Valitutti

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Home House

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scenepix Photos by Marianne Valitutti

Edge Edge

The Barwon Club

Edge

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forte 43

Film Reviews

Films reviewed by Anthony Morris

22 Jump Street Most jokes just aren’t as funny the second time around. Luckily, in this follow-up to the surprise hit 21 Jump Street, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie) have put a new spin on the old TV series. The first film was all about how lame it was to even try to make a movie of the 21 Jump Street TV show; this one is about how lame it is to even try to make a sequel to the 21 Jump Street movie … Maybe the jokes aren’t all that new.

Things begin with cops Schmidt ( Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) doing grown-up undercover work, posing as buyers to drug smuggler ‘The Ghost’ (Peter Stormare). Naturally it all goes wrong in the usual buddy-cop movie fashion, which is a bit of a let-down really: fortunately, having failed as regular undercover cops, Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) informs our duo that their days of trying something different are over and they’re to do the exact same thing they did last time. Only this time, they’re going to college.

After a brief stop-over at Jump Street’s new headquarters (yes, at 22

the wr ap Edge of Tomorrow Kill, die (thanks to alien time-travel juice) repeat: this future war movie is, despite its grim premise, surprisingly funny in parts.

Guess it must be seeing Tom Cruise die over and over.

Fault in our Stars Cancer teens fall in love and the tears flow like rain. It’s not exactly subtle, but if you’re after a weepy this will definitely find a way to make you cry.

Maleficent Sadly Angelia Jolie – playing the evil Queen from Sleeping Beauty – doesn’t get enough opportunities to be really, really evil here.

But even arch and snark Jolie is pretty entertaining.

Jump Street, former church and home of Vietnamese Jesus) to check in with Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), it’s off to a local college to find out who’s selling the drug known as WHYFHY (Work Hard Yeah, Play Hard Yeah). Same deal as last time: get in good with the dealers, find out who the supplier is, crack jokes

along the way – everyone’s happy.

Once on campus, Jenko quickly bonds with jock and potential life-partner Zook (Wyatt Russell), while Schmidt ends up hanging with the arty crew at a slam poetry evening where his improvised poetry – never not funny – ends up impressing student Maya (Amber Stevens).

Blended

The Rover It’s “Ten Years After the Collapse” and the Australian outback is looking pretty shabby.

Actually, it’s looking pretty much like what you’d expect: while for overseas viewers no doubt this particular barren countryside (it was filmed in the northern part of South Australia) looks suitably hostile and desolate, for Australians – the occasionally hanging corpse or army patrol aside – it’s just another day in paradise.

Our hero Eric (Guy Pearce) has just pulled into a local bar for a drink when a gang of armed robbers crashes their car outside; having no other options, they steal his car and drive off. Eric promptly gets their truck going, chases them down, demands his car back, at which point they knock him out and leave him by the side of the road. He’s not one to give up that easily though.

After a brief investigation (which at one point has an old lady asking him his name, so he goes across the road, tries to buy a gun, shoots dead the gun salesman when he doesn’t have enough money, then goes back to the old lady and points the gun at her rather than just say his name) he finds Rey (Robert Pattinson), wounded 44 forte

brother of one of the robbers left behind at the crime scene to die.

Eric thinks Rey can lead him to them, and his car; in the process, a whole lot of people are going to end up dead.

Desolate landscapes and lots of staring from Pearce aside there’s not really a whole lot going on with this film – it’s basically a more brooding and thoughtful Mad Max 2, only there wasn’t really much to think about with that film once you got past the car chases (which this film doesn’t have). There’s the occasional portentous speech from Eric, and Rey’s man-child act is certainly impressive acting-wise when you consider Pattinson’s other roles, but this feels a lot like 50 minutes worth of material stretched out to twice that length. Plus – and this may be intentional – it’s hard to figure out whether the film is cheering on Eric as he cuts a murderous path across the desolate landscape for his own unknowable (until the final scene) reasons or whether we’re meant to realise that in just about every violent encounter Eric is the one who starts killing.

In any other setting, he’d be a clear-cut monster: in this somewhat generic wasteland, it just seems like what a man’s gotta do.

Our story begins pretty much where you’d expect an Adam Sandler movie to begin: in a toilet stall at Hooters. There Lauren (Drew Barrymore) is on the phone to best friend Jen (Wendi McLendon-Covey) trying to escape from a horrible blind date with Jim (Adam Sandler). While they superficially seem to hate each other, there’s been a glimmer of bonding over her line “It’s as weird as Weird Al starring in Weird Science”, so even though their date fizzles we just know

How to Train Your Dragon 2 When we last saw Hiccup (the voice of Jay Baruchel) and his dragon Toothless, they’d brought together dragons and Vikings to live in harmony on the rocky island of Berk. Five years later and they’re all one big happy family – but while Hiccup’s father (and island Chief ) Stoick (Gerard Butler) is still running the show and Hiccup’s girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera) is winning at the island’s new top

Soon the duo are drifting apart: how can they solve crimes when they can’t even get along?

Thankfully this keeps the jokes coming at a steady pace because not all of them work.

There aren’t any real duds, but some of the running jokes get a little stale even when the joke is “this joke is getting a little stale”.

It’s the chemistry between Tatum – who gets funnier the dumber he acts – and Hill that keeps this going over the flat patches, and there’s enough comedy gold here (especially the hilarious end credits sequence) to have you leaving with a smile on your face.

they’ll get back together because that’s the point of this two-hour movie. But because this is a twohour movie, we first have to spend time with their kids.

Lauren has two sons: the older is a masturbator obsessed with his babysitter while the younger is an out-of-control maniac. Jim has three daughters: the eldest, “Larry”, (Bella Thorne) would like to be interested in boys, but the horrible haircut and clothes her father has given her has everyone hilariously thinking she’s a boy.

The middle one talks to their dead mum and the youngest

one seems pretty normal but clearly craves a woman’s touch.

Then they all go to Africa as part of some holiday scam that the movie doesn’t even try to explain properly – are they pretending to be the people the holiday was bought for (his boss and Jen), or did they just take the tickets?

This probably isn’t racist, but at times – oh look, copulating rhinos – it kind of feels like it is, while Sandler’s increasingly sloppy hand when it comes to comedy doesn’t help matters any. Everyone gets to fix everyone else’s problems long before the film drags itself over the finishing line, and while there are a lot of terrible scenes in this film the real problem isn’t the lame “wacky” moments – listing all the terrible things that happen in this film would make it sound way more interesting than it really is – but that it’s boring.

There’s no real obstacles preventing Lauren and Jim from getting together after the first half hour, and Sandler and Barrymore’s real chemistry means the film’s best scenes are the ones where they’re having fun together so having to wait an hour and a half for them to actually become a couple feels like adding insult to injury. Grievous injury at that.

pastime – dragon racing – Hiccup is off exploring and mapping uncharted islands. Or maybe he’s running away from his destiny to replace his father, as that kind of power seems like the furthest thing from his mind. But when on one of his trips he discovers a crew of dragon trappers, he soon discovers that there’s someone out there actively collecting dragons – and his intentions are not good.

It was the combination of heartfelt emotions and stunning flying sequences that made the first Dragon film such a big hit, so it’s hardly a shock twist to reveal that Hiccup’s long-lost mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) makes an appearance and helps to get the tears flowing. But while the first film had a well-crafted story to make sure all the elements worked together as one, this feels a little lop-sided – more like a string of loosely connected events

rather than one big whole.

Thematically things are a little wobbly too, as dragons are revealed to be extremely dangerous – even fatal – in the wrong hands, which does tend to suggest that keeping them as pets could have some drawbacks for the unwary. But the strengths of the first film are still here as well: the animation is excellent, the flying scenes are exhilarating (especially in 3D), the voice cast is top-notch – Blanchett is especially good as a character going through a whole range of emotions – and if the story has a few bumps here and there, it’s never quite enough to derail the whole endeavour.

Hiccup and Toothless are such a fun duo it’d be a shame to have to wait another five years for their next outing.

A Million Ways to Die in the West Seth MacFarlane packs the jokes in but can’t really make up for his own failings as a leading man in this fitfully funny Western spoof.

Godzilla It’s a big monster fighting other big monsters while the puny 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.

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.

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

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow

Music Reviews

Foxes Glorious Sign Of The Times Ltd

Deep down there’s a pop lover in all of us, and if there’s one sickly sweet album you pick up this year make it Foxes’. With her emotive and silky smooth vocals, Louisa Rose Allen couldn’t have put together a better debut.

Though this album has been under works for quite a while, it’s been three years since Foxes first started performing. It’s a welcome addition to the CD shelf.

Injected with a few dance tracks – ‘Youth’ and ‘Let Go for Tonight’ – Glorious is a radio DJ’s dream come true, and unsurprisingly her tracks have already received significant airplay. ‘White Coats’ brings a slightly edgier sound to the album, but still features the all-encompassing chorus that

wh at ' s n e w ?

Quadrophenia: Live In London The Who

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of their classic rock opera, Quadrophenia, The Who invited cameras to their tour closer at London’s Wembley Stadium. This DVD is the result of that recording, and there’s a matching doubledisc album to go with it.

Available Now on Universal.

Around The Sun Mastodon

Back with their sixth studio album are Atlanta’s favourite sons, Mastodon. The popular metal band have been rocking around the world for fourteen years, and are showing no signs of stopping.

Available Now on Reprise.

A.K.A. Jennifer Lopez

Fortunately, this album doesn’t include that terrible collaboration with Pitbull from this year’s World Cup. It does, however contain ten tracks of Jennifer Lopez, including a track called ‘Booty’. At least she’s self-aware, I guess.

Available Now on Capitol.

X Ed Sheeran

English singer-songwriter, and Ron Weasley look-alike, Ed Sheeran is back with his second album, the followup to 2011’s +. If the next two aren’t called ÷ and -, I’ll be very disappointed.

Available Now on Atlantic.

Self Titled 5 Seconds Of Summer

When did boy bands come back? Is it all because of One Direction? Anyway, Australia’s answer to One Direction are here with their debut album, on the back of their EP that went to #1 on iTunes in fifty-five countries besides Australia.

That can’t be right. Available Tomorrow on Capitol.

Isolate and Medicate Seether

South Africa’s biggest musical export, Seether, are releasing their sixth album. The alt-rock trio have been producing music since 1999. Available Tomorrow on Concord.

Foxes seems to be fond of.

While Foxes may be able to put together a decent pop track that’s bound to please her target audience, her ethereal voice is the real standout of the album. ‘Night Glo’ is spinetingling as she sings along to a light and airy piano.

As perfect as Foxes’ voice is, there are a few flaws in the album. But once you get past the slightly

Milwaukee Banks Rose Water Inertia Access

Rose Water, the new EP from Melbourne’s own Milwaukee Banks (MB), is an impressive release. At first, ‘Pluto Bounce’ comes across as a simple electro RnB track, yet the more you listen to it the greater depth and more detail you will find within the vocal samples and instrumentation. A collaboration between Edo and tight lyricist and wordsmith Dyl Thomas, it’s easy to hear how Milwaukee Banks have been compared to the likes of James Blake and Earl Sweatshirt.

Although I hadn’t really heard of generic pop songs that feel a little bit like fillers, you can truly appreciate the amazing vocal talent and potential that she has.

For a debut, she’s done a lot better than some of the veteran pop singers going around.

Amanda Sherring

National Celtic Festival Portarlington June 6 to June 9, 2014

There is a well-kept secret on the Bellarine Peninsula: on a wintery long weekend in June the ‘clans’ gather in the seaside town of Portarlington. Amidst singing, dancing, drinking, eating and playing music, a celebration of friendship is held. For those well-versed with the Irish and Scottish traditions, the National Celtic Festival is compulsory.

Meanwhile, for those not initiated, it is a wonderful surprise to find such amazing music and dedicated musicians in our midst.

Overseas guests included musicians from Cape Breton in Canada, the Isle of Man, Scotland, Ireland and England.

A collaboration between the festival and Fèis Rois (a school for skill development in traditional Scottish musical instruments) continues to bring talented young musicians to Portarlington to share their skills with the community as well as involving Australian musicians in their performances overseas.

Barrule, a trio from the Isle of Man, who I was lucky enough to interview before the festival, did not disappoint.

Playing traditional Manx music, they combine the sounds of accordion, fiddle and bouzouki and are sure to be back in Australia in the not too distant future. The headliner of the weekend was most probably The Heartstring Quartet, who through playing a set of traditional music showcased their talent and showed why they have played with some of the biggest acts around including Sinead O’Connor and Van Morrison.

Of course no Celtic festival ending would be complete without the strains of the bagpipes from Claymore with ‘Long Way to the Top’.

Highlights included a new addition to the Ocean Grove area, Áine Tyrrell and band, Shane Howard, Sásta and Working Dog Union, who hail from South Australia and according to the program “combine the Uilleann pipes with contemporary jazz and progressive rock”.

If you are prepared to be entertained with a variety of music, dance, workshops and song, this unique festival should definitely be on your calendar.

Tex Miller

Jack White Lazaretto Third Man Records

Jack White is a god. Lazaretto, his latest release, is an absolute rocking listen right from the get-go. Released in the last fortnight, it has had rave reviews from all over the world and has been featured on triple j. From the overdriven guitar lines to the rollicking twelve bar blues piano and simple lyrics, there is definitely something here for everybody to enjoy.

Always one for quirky instrumentation and sounds, from the very first listen of this disc I was enticed by ‘Lazaretto’, ‘Three Women’ and ‘That Black Cat Licorice’. If you haven’t picked this disc up yet, you definitely should because it is a stellar set of songs. It’s quite a mash-up of all of White’s projects, and if you listen closely you can hear elements of White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.

He headlined Bonnaroo a couple of weeks ago and played an intense two-and-a-half hour set of tunes.

For fans and music fanatics around Australia, I hope that with this release he returns to our shores soon. ‘Would You Fight For My Love’ is the closest track on the album to showing characteristics of light and shade, as well as that raucous growl of White’s Gretsch electric guitar.

No complaints here – check this disc out and get acquainted with Lazaretto today. Tex Miller

tUnE-yArDs Nikki Nack 4AD

Though we may roll our eyes at the need for musicians to create a ‘persona’, let’s face it, it’s damn entertaining when they do – especially when they get it as right as Merrill Garbus does in tUnE-yArDs. Her third album, Nikki Nack is a theatrical 13-track album chock-full of expression and experimentalism.

‘Water Fountain’ deceives us with its uppity guitar strums, rhythmic clapping and percussion while we bop along to some seriously deep lyrics. Unbeknownst, we clap along to “Nothing feels like dying like the drying of my skin and lawn. Why do we just sit here while they watch

Tim Hulsman Dead Man’s Garden Independent

The most exciting local release this year to date is Tim Hulsman’s debut Dead Man’s Garden.

Throughout the twelve tracks, the folky acoustic lap steel and rootsy sound that we have all grown to love over the past couple of years is present. The first time that I ever saw Tim Hulsman play was at Beav’s Bar a couple of years ago.

The first song, ‘Goodnight Irene’, is a classic Lead Belly blues number.

Incredibly polished and complete with some live field recordings in the background, it is the opening track to this beautiful local folk release.

Complete with backing from Grant Cummerford, who works with Jeff Lang as well as a myriad of other musicians, the complete band sound that runs throughout the majority of these tracks is a nice organic change to Hulsman’s previous solo stage show.

The real positive to this album

Milwaukee Banks until I was passed the SoundCloud link, it’s comforting to know that Australian hip hop and the future of the scene is in good hands. I don’t know whether there is a greater moment on this record than when the beat drops back into ‘Sweater Made of Gold’ towards the end of the track. It’s blissful electronica, an enticing track, and a definite highlight of the EP. This low-fi chilled out vibe is evident through each of the EP’s six tracks, and MB are definitely worth checking out if they announce a Geelong show on the back of the release of this disc. To some, the manipulation of the sound in the vocal track may somehow be a little

confronting at first, yet the original electro hip hop sound that is present on Rose Water is incredibly soulful and will have you hooked on the second or third listen – I guarantee.

Tex Miller

us wither ’til we’re gone?” While we should feel a little betrayed, you can’t help but love this catchy number and the way it sticks in your head for days. ‘Wait for a Minute’ will have you humming along and feeling just as guilty as you did with ‘Water Fountain’.

If there’s anything that we’ve learnt from past tUnE-yArDs albums is that each song is as varied as the last. At times things slow down, ‘Time of Dark’ and ‘Look Around’ are fine examples, but then an experimental track like ‘Hey Life’ is thrown into the mix.

While this album mightn’t be for everyone, there’s something so hilarious and engaging about Nikki Nack. The lyrics play out much like a story, and Garbus’ storytelling comes to the forefront in the track

‘Interlude’. Though it’s a quirky addition, it wouldn’t be the greatest thing to listen to before a night out, or jog along the beach.

This album is worth picking up for those wanting something a bit different or who find themselves a bit of a genre jumper.

Amanda Sherring

is the addition of Nina Grant on piano and vocals on the tracks ‘Sweet Surrender’ and ‘Yours Finally’.

Complemented by sweeping and beautiful violin melodies on each track, these are just two highlights on Dead Man’s Garden.

The title track tells the story of one of Hulsman’s previous occupations as a groundskeeper at a rural property.

The minor chord progression combined with the vocals and full-band sound adds a different vibe to what

fans on Hulsman’s music have heard in the past.

Produced by Tristen Bird at his Freshwater Creek property in Geelong, this local release should be in your record collection. It’s been a few years in the making, yet you can definitely hear the fruits of Hulsman’s labour on Dead Man’s Garden.

He’s launching the disc at Beav’s Bar on Friday the 4th of July so put it in your diaries now.

A great debut effort from one of Geelong’s acclaimed blues players. Tex Miller

P R O D U C T REVIE W :

Ludwig Questlove Breakbeats Kit Review provided by Music Workshop

A smaller kit with a huge sound! Great for wedding bands, busking, and many other ‘space poor’ venues or environments.

With venues closing down, gigging spaces becoming smaller and a shift away from louder styles of music, it could be the perfect time to reevaluate your need for a dual-kick, five-tom set-up. In reality a 16” bass drum is hardly the definition of ultimate sonic versatility, so a reduction in size carries the possibility of a reduction in price.

That’s what Ludwig has done here, having enlisted the help of walking groove encyclopedia, Questlove (The Roots, Jimmy Fallon). Questlove’s idea behind the Breakbeats kit is to combine portability with decent sound quality: “I wanted to build a device that was apartment-friendly and compact for the street musician but was quality-sounding. A

gritty, raw, ‘break-able’ kit for gigging in clubs that you can fit in a cab.”

There are a couple of touches that go above and beyond here too: Remo Pinstripes are fitted to the two toms as standard, plus the drums come with their own velvet bags. These function as basic, nonpadded gig bags, but they’ve also been ‘designed’ to be used as a set of mutes for practice/quieter performance.

Taking the kit out of its bags, we were impressed with the quality of the kit’s build. The chromed hardware feels solid, with a weighty tom-holder, quality, smooth hoops and the sturdy riser.

Create heartfelt beats on the fly and have your sound heard at gigs, on the street or in an apartment. Be a Voice. Be a Legend – Join the Family.

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39 Fyans St, Geelong, Ph: 03 5221 6036 musicworkshop.com.au forte 45

Forte Columns

grog watch Written by Tony Montana

So I was talking to a friend of mine last week and he was saying that his girlfriend was pressuring him to combine their social media accounts, which made me laugh because this guy’s social media activity is pretty much what you’d expect from a guy with a day job and no real interest in sports: next to zero. Actually, that’s pretty much everyone’s social media activity: nobody I know who isn’t in “the media” – though by the media I mean anyone who feels they have a pressing opinion about anything – bothers with anything apart from Facebook, and the only people who put stuff up on Facebook are either stay-at-home mums quietly going insane or people on holidays wanting everyone to know that they’re having an awesome time.

Oh, and people who go to parties a lot,

but they usually seem to put all the good stuff up on Snapchat … or so I hear.

Long story short, the initial excitement around social media seems to have died off as kids realise it’s just another way to communicate, and they love to communicate, and grown-ups realise it’s just another way to communicate, and they hate to communicate. So my advice to my mate was simple: let her have her way and get the joint account because none of your mates are going to care and it sounds like it’s something that’s important to her which means it’ll come in handy next time you want to do something she doesn’t want you to do because shouting “I gave you a joint Facebook account” might score you brownie points. Okay, maybe it was pretty bad advice.

But then he gave me the backstory.

It seemed that he had, not so long ago and seemingly when I wasn’t paying attention which seemed fairly plausible to me because, you know, being drunk, he had been an avid user of social media.

Or, at least, he’d been someone who would post links to articles, give his opinion on various non-controversial issues, chat away to strangers when they turned out to be interested in stuff he was interested in – you know, all the stuff you’re supposed to be doing on social media. And he thought all this was cool with his girlfriend because she had no real interest in social media, though she did spend a lot of time on the computer because she was a big music buff – and then we both remembered that time she dragged him to this dive bar to hear this band and he dragged me along because, you know, dive bar, and she got really pissed off because we started laughing at the band because they were using one of those instruments where you rub a stick along the ridged back of it and it makes a scraping noise and who plays that outside of high school music class?

But back on topic: he thought all his social media stuff was fine with her until this one day out of nowhere she

asks him about this article he linked to that was about gender inequality in video games or something. So she was interested in gender inequality, I asked him, because that sounded like a conversation I didn’t want to have sober, and oh wait, I wasn’t. No, he said with a shake of his head. So she was interested in video games, I said, thinking that was more my conversation speed after seven vodka ’n’ cokes. Nope was his reply. So what did she ask about?

Whether, he said, he was attracted to the women in those video games.

This was definitely not a conversation I wanted to have sober. He said he managed to get out of it with repeated cries of “no, of course not, are you crazy, etc., etc.” (obviously the real answer was more like “sure, but they’re not real so what are you gonna do?”) and thought nothing of it. But then a week or so later she asked him about something he’d posted about some political figure, only what she wanted to know was if he liked her because of her haircut

(which I think he said he mentioned, so it wasn’t completely out of the blue).

But a picture was beginning to form: she was keeping tabs on what he was getting up to on social media, and if he was saying stuff about the ladies she wasn’t happy about it. It didn’t sound like there were knock-down drag-out fights going on, but he said the atmosphere was getting pretty tense around the house – so much so that he figured it was easier and smarter just to slowly back away from the computer, lest some comment about the Grand Prix be taken as coded approval for some brunette grid girl that would send his blonde girlfriend into a jealous rage. But rage, he said, he could deal with (by leaving her); it was more the sense that everything he did online was being watched and checked for hidden meanings that was freaking him out. “So this is your first relationship, right?” I said.

Sure, he knew all that stuff about once your happiness depends on

another it’s only natural to become paranoid and controlling, but he’d somehow thought on the internet he could still be his real self. Nuhuh: online is just another part of the world now, and if you’re not going to leer at other women on the street you’re not going to make comments – positive or negative – about women on the internet.

You might as well get that joint Facebook account, I told him, because at least then you’ve faced up to the cage you’re living in. And then I passed out.

Tony “I only go online to order from Dan Murphy’s” Montana

Music Reviews

Borneo Jazz 2014 Miri, Sarawak May 9 to 10, 2014

The ninth instalment of Malaysian Borneo’s two-day jazz gathering was another cross cultural party of jazz flavoured rhythms by the South China Sea. Four diverse acts shook the outdoor stage each night in the grounds of the Parkcity Everly Hotel.

Young Sarawak vocalist, Diana Liu fronted a stylish quartet as first featured act of the weekend.

From Martinique, Mario Canonge displayed his virtuoso command of piano with a cracking band building intricate layers between the keys. Malaysia’s soul-sizzling ensemble JunkOFunc cranked the energy up with the duelling pipes of Elvira Arul (Aretha meets Tina) and Russel Curtis (strong, sweet and soulful). Infectious covers ignited an enthusiastic crowd. Their extended version of Bill Withers’ ‘Lean On Me’ would blow most TV talent quest wannabes off the screen. Next up, the a cappella gymnastics of Cuba’s Vocal Sampling kept punters in party mode.

After midnight, DJ Roundhead kept the discs and the fun spinning in the Pavilion adding dance moves, smiles and air guitar to the club set.

Late night jam sessions followed in the hotel’s lounge bar, working well

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as a new feature for BJ. Indonesia’s YK Samarinda rocked a pleasantly balmy Saturday night with classic jazz/rock and eye-catching traditional garb rich in beads and feathers. Far from the headhunter past, the electrified local ‘lute’ or guitar known as a Sapé (or Sampé) introduced a cool blend of hypnotic circular riffs. English piano man Anthony Strong filled the Buble/ Harry Connick Jnr brief with Rat Pack favourites, RnB hits and originals and audience participation embraced by the crowd. Germany’s Brassballett moved and grooved with an instrumental choreographed set of horn players and full band.

With all acts congregating on stage for a farewell finale, it was clear they were as pumped as the punters. The quality of production was impressive as ever. Food, craft and merch vendors did good business and fans had easy access to performers for photo opportunities.

With around 4,000 attending each night, the pace and layout of the landscaped village is relaxed and welcoming. Happy punters, happy musos, happy crew. No wonder organisers were smiling into the wee hours at the last night’s jam.

Chris Lambie

LUDWIG ACCENT

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2 JULY PLUS AN INFORMAL CHAT FROM THE BREWERY AMBASSADOR Forrest B�ewing Co beer available behind the bar - while �tocks last (03) 5222 2666 | EDGEGEELONG.COM.AU | ENQUIRIES@EDGEGEELONG.COM.AU | 6–8 EASTERN BEACH ROAD, GEELONG

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