Forte #603

ISSUE #603 ball ar at | bell arine | Bendigo | ca stlemaine | geelong | surf coa st | warrnambool |

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the bennies pg.23

KIM CHURCHILL pg.35

BALKAN BEAT BOX

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FRENZAL RHOMB

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THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS

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RUSSELL MORRIS

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ALSO FEATURING: The Growlers, Jeff Lang, Vika and Linda Bull, Miss Saigon, Chela, Linch, and heaps more!

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

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

Good Moon Rising Mark Kozelek, he who goes by the musical name of Sun Kil Moon, is set to deliver his tunes to Australian crowds once again. The tour puts the spotlight on his latest album, Benji, which features fan favourite track ‘Carissa’. The album, which features guest spots from Steve Shelley, Wil Oldham and Owen Ashworth, has received arguably the best reviews of Kozelek’s career.

Athenaeum Theatre – March 21.

Depths of the Ocean

Something New for Dallas Crane Following an almost four-year break, Melbourne rockers Dallas Crane decided to regroup and get back to the business of rock and roll. They have been travelling along for a year or so now, with news of a new album being of particular note. That one should drop at some stage in 2015. To give fans a little tease, the lads have announced a small number of shows, one being at The Corner on January 25.

Peninsula Picnic’s Pabulum Perfection Mornington Peninsula’s most extensive food, wine and music gathering is thrilled to announce that The Waifs, Paul Dempsey, Tinpan Orange, Pierce Brothers and Hayden Calnin will provide the refreshing tunes at 2015’s event. The event will also showcase the best in local

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chefs, producers, growers and orchardists, resident restaurants, expert vignerons and vineyards.

Mornington Peninsula – March 25.

The Vote Is On Hey ho, here we go with triple j’s Hottest 100.

Who had the best song in 2014? Who may well find themselves on the road to international

glory, if indeed they’re not already gloriously international? Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?

This, and so much more, will be revealed on Australia Day. But the call is in your hands, people. You have the power. You can crush a soul or rise up a spirit.

Voting closes January 18.

Germany’s progressive metal outfit The Ocean (aka The Ocean Collective) are heading our way – for real this time. Following a little hiccup surrounding a planned January tour, the band now has a bunch of dates locked and loaded for April. The tour supports Pelagial, their new release which, according to the band, takes the listener on a journey through the five pelagic depth zones. The Evelyn – April 18.

Serving an Ace The Australian Open is just around the corner, and with it comes the announcement of those acts set to perform. A new artist will perform each

Star Trek Revs its Engine

day of the Open’s event, kicking off with Megan Washington on January 19. Steven Motlop, Diesel, Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows will close out proceedings on February 1. Scattered in-between you have Sheppard, Boom Crash Opera, The Preatures and Potbelleez among others.

Australia Day Fundraisers Melbourne’s music community will come together once again this Australia Day weekend in order to raise funds and awareness for The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, The Refugee Council and Oxfam. Frenzal Rhomb, Saskwatch, Joelistics, The Smith Street Band, Hoodlum Shouts, Curse Ov, The Bennies and Have/Hold are among the artists set to perform across The Reverence on January 25 and The Corner on January 26.

It looks as though Justin Lin has scored the director’s gig for Star Trek 3. The report comes from Deadline, which says that Paramount, Skydance Productions and Bad Robot reckon the Fast & Furious director is the right man for the job. At this stage, it seems the film will still run with the script written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. We’re looking at a 2016 mid-year release for this one.

Signing a Killer A record deal is done and dusted for supergroup Teenage Time Killer.

Although, really, when your group includes Dave Grohl and Corey Taylor you’re not going to struggle to find a home. The band, which also boasts Randy Blythe and Nick Oliveri as collaborators, is due to release their debut album this year. Among other things, you can expect to hear Jello Biafra sing John Cleese’s poem ‘Ode to Hannity’ on the album.

Play Free Bird In February, Lynyrd Skynyrd will return to their hometown of Jacksonville to perform their first two albums

in their entirety – Pronounced ‘Lĕh-’nérd ‘Skin-’nérd and Second Helping. They’ll also perform a bunch of other hits, which will all be made into a nice little DVD release. Signature tunes ‘Free Bird’ and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ feature on the releases.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

Finding Nemo 2: Judgement Day As you may have heard, the beloved Finding Nemo is finally getting a

sequel. Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks will return for the voices of Dory and Nemo in Finding Dory. According to the fish in the sea, the sequel will mainly take place in a rehabilitation centre for underwater life called the ‘Marine Biology Institute of California’. The original, released in 2003, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Supanova 2015 Pop culture expo Supanova returns to Melbourne this year,

Getting Intimate with Freddie Gibbs When it came to end-of-year lists, Freddie Gibbs featured on more than a few. His collaborative album with Madlib, Piñata, was highly praised for its fluidity and imagination, with Hot New Hip Hop writing: “Madvillainy is an untouchable classic, and Piñata may not be that, but it’s so far the most enjoyable hip-hop album of 2014, and probably as close as we’ll ever get to a Madvillainy sequel.” The Corner – February 28.

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will shine a decadent light on the Los Angeles music video industry of the early to mid-eighties. The halfhour-long comedy, titled Living on Video, has been greenlit by HBO. Fincher is no stranger to the music world, having directed clips for Billy Idol, Aerosmith and Madonna among others.

Bored Nothing Moves On

A Celebration of Marley On February 6, Bob Marley would have turned 70. To commemorate the occasion, the Marley family has decided to grant Universal Music Group access to its extensive vault of unreleased material. The first release will be a CD/DVD release, Easy Skanking in Boston ’78. As only one camera filmed the gig, the gaps made during roll changes will be filled with animation created and directed by S77 and Matt Reed. and arguably the coolest vampire in history is along for the ride. James Marsters played Spike in cult TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel from 1997 to 2004. Since then he has

appeared in Smallville and Torchwood, inbetween rocking out as the frontman of Ghost of the Robot. More on Supanova through supanova.com.au.

Fincher Wants His ’80s Back David Fincher, the man behind Fight Club, Gone Girl and Alien³ among others, is turning his attention to the small screen in a series which

If you want a chance to say goodbye to Fergus Miller, the nice chap behind Bored Nothing, you only have this Saturday to do so. Miller: “This is the end of Bored Nothing. It’s been fun.

We’ve drank a lot of beer, been banned from a prominent Melbourne venue, and had shows where even some of the band members didn’t show up … I’ll never stop making music, but Bored Nothing feels like it’s run its course right now.”

NSC – January 10.

Laika Joins the McConaissance Stop-motion animation studio Laika, the studio behind Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, has announced their next project.

Working with Focus Features, Kubo & the Two Strings is billed as a “sweeping, swashbuckling

adventure set in a mythical ancient Japan”.

The voice cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes and Brenda Vaccaro.

I Want to Hear an Anthem It would seem that Aussies love ’em a little Gaslight Anthem. After announcing a few shows, the delirious scream of joy emitted by fans was loud enough for the band to tag on some additional dates. Even cooler, fans will be able to nominate what they want to hear, which is great news for those people who hate it when people shout out requests at shows – seriously, stop doing that.

It’s annoying. Prince of Wales – February 4.

by instruments and a constant stream of ’50s and ’60s radio hits.”

Nowhere Boys Movie ABC3 series Nowhere Boys is getting the feature-length treatment.

Tony Ayres, Rhys Graham and Craig Irvin are in charge of writing the script, with Beth Frey handling production duties. From the presser: “The Nowhere Boys are called upon to help avert a magical catastrophe, and in doing so, they unwittingly transport a powerful teenage witch into their world which unleashes the full wrath of the Restoring Demon.”

The Always Good Hilltop Hoods The Hilltop Hoods and APRA AMCOS have $10,000 that they’re desperate to share through an initiative that hopes to seek out the best in emerging hip hop/soul talent. A couple of rules: the initiative is open to those who have not released an album professionally. Applicants must also be members of APRA AMCOS. Applications open January 20. For further information, keep a sharp eye on apraamcos.com.au.

Another Year for Colin Hay Colin Hay continues to walk the solo road triumphantly, with his new album, Next Year People, set for release in February. From the presser: “Some of the songs are based on Colin’s personal experiences such as Waiting in the Rain, written about his parents and the almost mystical experience he had growing up in a music shop in Scotland, surrounded

Drool Over Karnivool Did you hear the one about the prog rockers who are releasing their back catalogue on vinyl? It’s Perth’s Karnivool. April is the magical month for fans hoping to snap up their works, including Asymmetry, with each release coming on 180g vinyl with gatefold sleeves and lyrics. As for other news in the band’s camp, the lads are heading abroad for a tour of Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Netherlands and the UK in March.

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Music

Nas performs Illmatic Body/Head (Kim Gordon + Bill Nace) A Summit of Music & Art

ODESZA • SWANS • Ariel Pink • Soul Clap King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard • Bo Ningen • Twerps Iceage • Dan Deacon • Terrible Love feat. Kirin J Callinan How To Dress Well • Midnight Juggernauts MJX Pty Ltd

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Horse Meat Disco • The 2 Bears • FunkinEven • Nick Monaco Dexter • NO ZU + Sal P (Liquid Liquid) • Chela • Banoffee Oscar Key Sung x Cassius Select • Rat & Co • Slum Sociable Wax’o Paradiso • LA Pocock • Noise In My Head

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Art

Leif Podhajsky • Hisham Bharoocha Ash Keating • Abby Portner • Robin Fox • Nonotak Johann Rashid • Cara Stricker x John Kirby Keith Deverell • Ghostpatrol • Sean Morris Cornelius Brown • Poppy Lane • Confetti System

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THE THURSDAY 8 JANUARY BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Tim Hudspith BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Daryl Braithwaite BEAVS BAR: Levi Anderson CHERRY BAR: Fulton Street BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc) - Live and Local, $13 Pizza night EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night EUREKA: Thirsty Thursday with local resident DJ’s Scribble Party LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard MARTIANS CAFE: $25 International Night including drink ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: 6pm Jazz n’ Blues PISTOL PETES: Food, Blues and Soul THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 YAH YAH’s: Hunted Crows

FRIDAY 9 JANUARY BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): The Wild Comforts with James Ramsay BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Geoff Achison, Chris Wilson, Phil Manning & Lloyd Spiegel BEAVS BAR: Jack Harman BELMONT HOTEL: Zane Carroll BENDED: Live music BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Happy Hour 5-7pm BLACK HATT: River Snake CHERRY BAR: Lupine CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. With live entertainment and DJ THE EASTERN: Live Music EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT AND

fortnightly calendar CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday EUREKA HOTEL: Live DJs FLYING BRICK CIDER HOUSE: Music on the Lawn THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Luke Hindson HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with DJs KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): Bareback Titty Squad LAMBYS: Live music THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Hyperdrones THE LORD NELSON: Happy Hour 5pm-7pm LORNE HOTEL: Live Music ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music PISTOL PETES: Sweet Felicia & The Honeytones SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music UNWINED CELLAR BAR: Live Music YAH YAH’s: Dr Colossus

SATURDAY 10 JANUARY BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Paul Kelly TributePaul Woseen (of The Screaming Jets) BARWON HEADS HOTEL: DJ Eddie BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan BELMONT HOTEL: Al Vick BENDED: Live Music BLACK HATT: Blue Heat BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live Music and Happy Hour 5-7pm CHERRY BAR: Massive THE EASTERN: Live Music EDGE: Live Music and DJ EUREKA: Live DJS THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Where’s Joss HOMEHOUSE: Apocalypto, Shameless, DJ Horizon LAMBYS: Live music LORNE HOTEL: Pier to Pub MARTIANS CAFE: Shaun Kirk ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY:

Live Music OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): ‘GABE ATKINSON’ Under The Covers PISTOL PETES: Jack Derwin (SYD) SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Nick Barker Live YAH YAH’s: Master Beta (EP Launch) 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

SUNDAY 11 JANUARY BELLARINE ESTATE WINERY: Live Music BELMONT HOTEL: Live music from 5pm BARWON CLUB: Super Cider Sundays BIRD ROCK CAFÉ (Jan Juc): Kids Eat Free 3:30-6:30, Steak and Parma Night, Happy Hour 5-6pm CHERRY BAR: Hollow Ground CITY QUARTER: Perfect Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Jazz from 3-6pm and Parmi Night GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery lunch LAMBYS: Live music THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Jack Derwin LORD NELSON: Sunday Funday Live Music ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live music OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Wild Comforts SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17 TORQUAY HOTEL:

The Black Sorrows YAH YAH’s: Acrylic

MONDAY 12 JANUARY BARWON CLUB: $10 Parmis BENDED: Steak night ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Members Draw, over $3000 in prizes to be won!

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

TUESDAY 13 JANUARY BENDED: Parmi night CHERRY BAR: Amy Volkofsky & The Molotovs ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13

WEDNESDAY 14 JANUARY THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Karaoke w Dave Anderson BENDED: Second chance & pub quiz BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Shit Trivia Mexican Night CHERRY BAR: Space Junk ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8pm. Have fun win prizes book a table GEELONG RSL: Pot and Parmi Night $13 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50 THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Paul Woseen PISTOL PETES: Food, Blues and Soul

THURSDAY 15 JANUARY BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Paul Woseen (of The

Screaming Jets) BARWON CLUB: Coat Hangers (USA) BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Happy Hour 5-7pm, Meat Raffle & Members Draw BEAVS BAR: Andy Forster- LEWES, Residual and Jordan Riddle BENDED: Live music BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Happy Hour 5-7pm EUREKA HOTEL: Live DJs KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): The Growlers (USA) MUSIC MAN MEGASTORE: Acoustic Foxx, Josh Dourno & Joel Stibbard PISTOL PETES: Thexton YAH YAH’s: DJ Mermaid & The Hunted Crows

HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with DJs LAMBYS: Live band THE LOFT (Warrnambool): LEWES THE LORD NELSON: Happy Hour 5pm-7pm LORNE HOTEL: Live Music ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music PISTOL PETES: Brian Fraser SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Acoustic Foxx, Josh Dourno & Joel Stibbard TORQUAY HOTEL: The Beautiful Girls UNWINED CELLAR BAR: Live Music YAH YAH’s: Sunset Blush

FRIDAY 16 JANUARY

BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Kyle Taylor BEAVS BAR: Jack Harman BELMONT HOTEL: Matty Orchard BENDED: Live Music BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live Music and Happy Hour 5-7pm CHERRY BAR: Money for Rope THE EASTERN: Live Music EDGE: Live Music and DJ EUREKA: Live DJS THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Dean & Jason HOMEHOUSE: Zac De Petro, Nick Coleman, Crunk KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): Kim Churchill LAMBYS: Live music THE LOFT (Warrnambool): King Evil & Delfin LORNE HOTEL: Live Music MARTIANS CAFE: Lily & King ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Liz Stringer PISTOL PETES: Jessey Jackson SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington):

BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Halfway to Fourth BARWON CLUB: The Growlers w Babe Rainbow BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Happy Hour 5-7pm, Meat Raffle & Members Draw BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan BELMONT HOTEL: Craig Sayer BENDED: Live music BLACK HATT: Radfest Geelong7 Bands BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Happy Hour 5-7pm CHERRY BAR: Money for Rope CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with live entertainment and DJ THE EASTERN: Live Music EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday EUREKA HOTEL: Live DJs FLYING BRICK CIDER HOUSE: Music on the Lawn THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Luke Hindson

SATURDAY 17 JANUARY

Live Music YAH YAH’s: Fierce Mild 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

SUNDAY 18 JANUARY BELLARINE ESTATE WINERY: Live Music BELMONT HOTEL: Live music from 5pm BARWON CLUB: Super Cider Sundays BIRD ROCK CAFÉ (Jan Juc): Kids Eat Free 3:30-6:30, Steak and Parma Night, Happy Hour 5-6pm CITY QUARTER: Perfect Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Jazz from 3-6pm and Parmi Night GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery lunch LAMBYS: Live band THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Lily & The Drum ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live music SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17

MONDAY 19 JANUARY BARWON CLUB: $10 Parmis BENDED: Steak night ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Members Draw, over $3000 in prizes to be won!

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

HOTEL: Meals for $11

TUESDAY 20 JANUARY BENDED: Parmi night ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night CHERRY BAR: Amy Volkofsky & The Molotovs GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13

WEDNESDAY 21 JANUARY BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Karaoke w Luke Biscan CHERRY BAR: Space Junk GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50 PISTOL PETES: Food, Blues and Soul

THURSDAY 22 JANUARY BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Peter & Kristine Allan BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia from 7pm BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc) - Live and Local, $13 Pizza night EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night EUREKA: Thirsty Thursday with local resident DJ’s CHERRY BAR: The Deans THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Hyperdrones LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard MARTIANS CAFE: $25 International Night including drink ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: 6pm Jazz n’ Blues PISTOL PETES: Food, Blues and Soul THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 YAH YAH’s: DJ Mermaid & The Hunted Crows

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THE BENNIES FEATURE STORY Written by Natalie Rogers

When&Where: Soundwave, Melbourne Showgrounds, February, Saturday 21 & Sunday 22

Basking in the warm glow of their accomplishments, The Bennies bass player Craig Selak took a moment to reflect on their past, present and future. The four loveable larrikins seemed to be here, there and everywhere in 2014. From setting off fireworks with drunken business men in China, to opening the Melbourne leg of Soundwave and making memories with new friends on their first trip to the US, there’s no denying their determination to make each day count. So it seems only fitting that we start our story with a blow-by-blow account of how The Bennies waved sayonara to the year that was and hello to 2015.

“We played at NYE on the Hill - it was a bloody ripper! They had these awesome espresso martinis cranking at the bar - I was absolutely knee-deep in those things!” Craig smiled. “But besides that, they really nailed the whole program I reckon. During the day they had pretty chilled-out world music or acoustic stuff and blue-grass tunes,” he explained. “Then as the night progressed it got a bit more party-like and the line-up totally killed it. Joelistics and The Smith Street Band, Jakubi and Jackie Onassis - it was just fucking awesome.

We had a really great time.

“We also spent the time thinking about what an awesome year we’d had – my highlight is definitely our American tour. It was five weeks of just pedal-to-themetal touring, drinking, meeting people, laughing – it was fucking amazing. I really loved that . . .

“The New Year is also the time for a bit of a pat on the back, a hi-five and a beer – but now we just want to get on with it. We aren’t ones to sit around and rest on

our laurels. 2015 will be business as usual I think - we’ll keep touring, writing new stuff, and putting ourselves out there.”

Craig is not exaggerating their commitment to the cause. The first quarter of the year will see them play shows across the country on their own national tour but before all that kicks off, The Bennies are booked to appear at not one, not two, but three major festivals.

“Yes, we’re playing at Beechworth Music Festival at the end of the month - we can’t wait. Then we’ll have a little time off before going on the road for Soundwave!” Craig explained, not bothering to contain his excitement.

“We played the 2014 Soundwave, but only at the Melbourne show. We had the opening slot and we were so fucking excited to be invited to that festival, we couldn’t believe it! We played and it went well but that was it. Then to be asked back to go on the whole tour this year is just awesome - we couldn’t be more stoked.

To be on the bill with Faith No More and Soundgarden,

our friends Area 7 and The Interrupters from the States, is going to be an absolute party. I CANNOT wait.

“We’re not the kind of guys to roll up, play and leave - we’ll definitely be first in and last out at the bar, and if I can I’ll be right there soaking up the tunes with the crowd,” Craig says. “We started this band because we’re music fans. Whenever we’re playing a festival we always check out other bands because we’re always stoked to see what everyone else is doing, and I love discovering new bands too.

“I love Soundwave because when it started it offered something different - that’s pretty much it. When it first began it was so fucking hard-core . . . I was like ‘fuck yeah, I can get into this!’ and it’s interesting now that it’s the one left standing. It’s a testament to Soundwave for keeping at it and believing in a more alternative style of music – and I never thought I’d play with Soundgarden.

You’ll probably see me on the side of stage drooling,” he laughed.

Another date to mark in your diary is the 7th of March, the day Golden Plains Festival returns for another fun-filled three days. “We’re so happy to play Golden Plains - it’s a dream come true. Our band started because we wanted to play at Meredith [Music Festival].

That was the whole point - we wanted to be a party band that would play at Meredith, and so to play at Golden Plains is close enough for us. We’re pretty fucking happy!”

Craig Selak is a very contented man and it doesn’t seem like things could get any better for the laid-back bass-player. I was wrong. “Literally a week after Golden Plains we start our Party Whirlwind Quest tour. We decided to call it a quest because we were playing heaps

of Zelda [classic video game] on our last tour - you get bored on the planes and trains,” he added. “Anyway we realised that sometimes being on tour can feel like a quest. For example: an early morning after a big night and we’re hung over as hell. We’d get together and say ‘ok it’s the boss level - let’s get it together and get through it’. After a while we thought ‘fuck it, let’s call our next tour a quest because some days it kinda feels like one’.”

Joining The Bennies on their quest are Melbourne band Foxtrot. “They’re an incredible four-piece punk rock band. We’ve known them for a long time - they’ve played alongside us and The Smith Street Band for a number of years,” Craig continued. “Foxtrot are their own beast – they’re really technical with a prog vibe to their riffing. Think Against Me! with the riffs of Muse.

It’s a cool fusion, plus they’re really rad dudes - we love them and couldn’t be more pleased to have them on tour with us.”

2015 is already shaping up to be a mission to victory for The Bennies, and if you liked 2014’s teaser EP ‘Heavy Disco’ you’ll love what Craig, Anty, Jules and Bowie have in store. “We’ll have new music out very soon. We’re writing right now for the new album and we’ve got a bunch of stuff that didn’t quite make it onto the EP that we wanna tweak. We recorded a couple of songs in the States with our buddies The Interrupters and The Smith Street Band, so we’ve got a few things in the back catalogue and we’re the dudes that are always writing no matter where we are - we always have ideas.

We’re just biding our time till Soundwave and putting them all together so they’ll all become smash hits! You gotta think big,” Craig grinned.

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balkan beat box Written by Tex Miller

One of the most exciting bands on the lineup for WOMADelaide 2015 is Balkan Beat Box (BBB). Combining various influences into their music, the sound that Tamir Muskat, Tomer Yosef and Ori Kaplan create is distinctly unique and a cross between gypsy punk, electronica, funk and world music. Speaking from the middle of the street in Tel Aviv in Israel, saxophonist for the group, Ori Kaplan, begins to reveal to me that at the moment the band is working on piecing together their sixth studio album, and the follow-up to 2012’s Give.

“We are currently working on the new album right now in Tel Aviv. Although I don’t live here and haven’t lived in Israel for many years, it’s good to be back in my home country laying down some new tracks. I’ve spent most of my adult life in New York, which was very inspiring as a musician. “The new record I’d say is 70 per cent there, but once the initial recording is complete there is a lot work to be done. We are currently working away on it and we hope to have it ready for the world to hear in June or July. We are not in a hurry right now.

We want to create the best sounding record we can …

Perfection takes time,” Kaplan said.

Living in New York in the mid-2000s was a very influential time for Balkan Beat Box. The group was formed when Kaplan met Tamir Muskat after playing

around live with other bands including Firewater and Gogol Bordello. As luck happened, it was Muskat’s involvement with a Firewater tour that led to Balkan Beat Box forming. “We started to work on some New York jazz album that we were doing with Firewater and Tamir became an essential member of the albums that we were making at the time. It was a very successful time for us and it’s different to what we are doing fifteen years later in BBB.” Staying true to the BBB philosophy of always reinventing the sound to keep the listener on their toes, this record will be the most ambitious for the band.

“We don’t want to become frustrated with creating new material … Each of us brings in something different to the table courtesy of our musical backgrounds. If you listen to our albums consecutively, you are able to hear the link and changes to the music as we made them.”

Having never toured Australia or New Zealand before, BBB is getting ready to head to our shores to play some incredible shows. Having topped the ARIA Dance Charts courtesy of Jason Derulo, Kaplan cannot wait to come Down Under and play his music to a different audience.

“Jason Derulo used a sample of our song Hermetico in his song Talk Dirty that song went to the top of the ARIA charts. It’s pretty cool to have a #1 having not actually toured there yet,” Kaplan laughs.

Working really hard to get the new album out, the upcoming debut Australian tour for BBB is sure to feature some of the new tunes. Having heard about the

world-class WOMADelaide festival, Kaplan can’t wait to hit the stage. “We will be playing a mixture of old stuff and new material and we hope that the Australian audiences come out and show their support”.

THE growlers

When & Where: WOMAD & Prince Bandroom, Melbourne – March 12

When & Where: The Corner, Melbourne – January 14; The Karova, Ballarat – January 15; and The Barwon, Geelong – January 16

Written by Natalie Rogers, Photo by Taylor Bonin

Known for their proclivity to don outrageous costumes and makeup for every gig, lo-fi punks The Growlers are calling for your good will and hand-me-downs as they journey cross-country this month. “When we go out on tour across oceans we don’t have enough room to pack little outfits!” frontman Brooks Nielson laughed.

The Growlers live on a diet of sun, surf and rock’n’roll – in fact, as we chatted the laid-back Californians were jetting their way to the isle of Hawaii, their home away from home. “We have a few shows in Hawaii then we’re back for the holidays before we head back to ’Stralia!”

Brooks said in his best Aussie accent.

On average the Growlers play 150 shows a year spanning across the five continents, so the news that they’d be returning to our shores so soon after soldout shows in mid-2014 came as a surprise to many.

Even more incredible, however, was the fact that they found the time to record their fifth album, Chinese Foundation, in just three weeks.

“I hope people don’t think we’re bragging, but we’ve learnt how to record and produce our albums in a very short amount of time. To us, having six months to make a record sounds like a dream!” Brooks smiled. “We’ve been together for eight years now and the guys and I have gotten pretty good at using the time we’re allowed.

It works for us that way … we need a little fire under our

bellies to get us in gear.”

Fuelled by their love of reverb and voice effects, The Growlers have spent immeasurable hours mixing the sound of the late ’60s with psychedelic undertones.

Unable to find a pre-existing term to accurately describe their style, Brooks happily coined the phrase ‘beachgoth’ and threw a party to celebrate – and so the Beach Goth Festival was born.

“About three years ago we started putting on the Beach Goth Fest. The first year we just invited some friends to play and since then it’s really taken off,” Brooks explained. “We’re definitely considering putting a festival together in Australia. A lot of cities, especially across Europe, just don’t get the beach-goth thing, so Australia is definitely the place to do it – and I know for a fact that a lot of American bands are looking at what’s going on in Australia…

“When we said yes to doing these shows the promoters and the label sent us a list of bands to listen to and to pick our supports, and that’s generally what happens all over the world for us. The amazing thing was that every single Australian band we heard we loved.

We were like, ‘What the hell’s going on down there!?’, because we did the same when we went to Europe and there were only two out of 30 that I thought were cool or that I would even WANT to be on tour with us.

"We could put on one hell of a festival with an allAustralian line-up!”

Mahalo, Growlers.

"The amazing thing was that every single Australian band we heard we loved."

frenzal rhomb Written by Amanda Sherring

Looking back over their career, Frenzal Rhomb have had a tricky time, amongst getting banned from multiple radio stations (including triple j), criticised for their choice of album art and generally copping a bit of slack. Still, the only thing Jay (Jason) Whalley would change is the band’s name.

“We went into a band competition and we needed a name that night and our guitarist at the time, Ben, was studying physics and so he opened up his text book and on the page he opened it up to there was this invention called the Fresnel Rhomb, which was some kind of light device,” he says.

“It was one of those things where you go, ‘Yeah, we’ll come up with something better than that’ and then we didn’t, ever. Now we’re kind of stuck with it.”

Now with Lindsay McDougall 100 per cent back on board, after stepping down from his role as The Doctor on triple j, the band is set to tour regional Victoria, with dates in Warrnambool, Ballarat and Geelong.

“I have recalled him to my life,” Jay adds with a laugh. “Actually, I went to his big party thing for his last show with triple j. I saw his mum and she was like, ‘Oh, I was so emotional when I saw you Jason because I remembered the day when I had to give him to you’.

It sounded like some terrible thing where she’d been grooming him for some horrible weird life. I guess in a way it has been a horrible weird life for him, but he’s also 24 forte

done quite well.”

In true Frenzal Rhomb style, and always ones to make a statement, their Steroidosonic tour poster features a ’roided up bloke taking a swing at the band – inspired by the kinghitting at the festival mere weeks ago.

“It’s a bit harsh isn’t it, when we haven’t been to one and we’re sort of tarring it all with that one brush. I know that Lindsay goes all the time and he loves it. I’m sure there are lots of lovely people that go as well, but we always like a soft target here at Frenzal Rhomb,” Jay says.

With posters like that, album covers featuring dicks on bread and their live show, there is far from anything dull about the band. While they’re entertaining choices for us as mere onlookers, their

"We tend to have stuck to the philosophy of just do it and then see what happens." decisions hold a bit more weight for the band and I couldn’t help but ask: do you really analyse each decision before you do it?

“We tend to have stuck to the philosophy of just do it and then see what happens, but I’m always

slightly amazed at how easy it still is to shock people or offend people,” Jay says. “That example of Dick Sandwich that you brought up is pretty funny because that was a cartoon, and admittedly it was of several penises

on a bit of bread, but when we toured regional Australia there were so many places that wouldn’t let us tour there or they wouldn’t put up the posters. It was community outrage, but it was just a drawing really.”

If all goes to plan and no Stereosonic lovers take offence to the poster, Frenzal Rhomb will be sharing their unique brand of punk rock with us normally forgotten towns.

When & Where: The Loft, Warrnambool – January 22, The Karova, Ballarat – January 23, Barwon Heads Hotel, Barwon Heads – January 24; and The Reverence Hotel, Melbourne – January 25.

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kim churchill "I think I find the most solace in not knowing where I am going and not knowing how I’m going to get there." pg.35

Rainbow Serpent Festival

Magic Bones Are All Hart

The Affliction of Youth

Are you ready for a garage rock electronic funk soul rock pop combo that will slap you upside the head? Glad to hear it! So, you have Magic Bones and you have Harts joining forces. Magic Bones will be bringing the garage rock, while Harts will be serving up electronic funk soul rock pop. It doesn’t get much better than that. Except it does, as both have some new stuff to show off to you. ‘Anytime Anywhere’ is the newie from Magic Bones, which triple j listeners may well have come across. One-man band Harts, meanwhile, will showcase his debut album Daydreamer, while also launching new single ‘When a Man’s a Fool’. The Karova, Ballarat – January 24.

The Amity Affliction is the kind of band that takes the good with the bad. As a wise man once said, you just gotta keep rollin’ on, which is exactly what the band did when their guitarist and co-founder Troy Brady left the band. They have a European/UK tour with Of Mice & Men lined up for March/April, but first they’ll undertake a few shows around our good country. The Weigh Downunder tour focuses on their latest release, 2014’s blistering Let the Ocean Take Me. Following the album’s release, the band sold 25,000 tickets to their five-date Australian tour before heading abroad, where they were met with similar attention in the US, UK and Europe. The Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex, Geelong – January 9 & 11 (U18).

The Rainbow Serpent Festival is just about here. In fact, it takes place this month. Ticket holders know what they’re getting, but if you are still up in the air about it it’s time to make the call. General presale tickets are currently available, and really, you’re getting a pretty sweet deal for your bucks. Well over 100 producers, bands and DJs will perform across several stages. From techy grooves to deep progressive stylings, you have a massive range of artists performing a multitude of genres. Then there is the lifestyle village, a unique space that is as much about celebration as it is community. And we’ve barely scratched the surface.

Hit rainbowserpent.net for the works. Lexton – January 23-26. forte 27

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Summer of Beautiful Girls

We’re Going Bareback

You will find few better ways to spend your summer than by soaking up the sunny sounds of The Beautiful Girls and their Summer Soundsystem tour.

Frontman Mat McHugh: “Music is something that really propels me creatively, but there’s something about the ocean that I can’t ever do without. I always get asked whether I was a musician that surfs or a surfer who plays music.

I don’t think I have an answer – they are both part of who I am and for me, there’s no better way to spend summer than being able to combine the two. Summer tours in Australia have been a tradition of ours and they are, without a doubt, my favourite part of the year.” Torquay Hotel, Torquay – January 16.

Bareback Titty Squad – now there is a band name the whole family can get behind. If this isn’t a name that rings a bell, think about that triple j Hottest 100 mash-up. Yep, that was them. Within 48 hours the band was on the front page of reddit and YouTube among others.

The band so dirty they’ll try anything twice, they then did a mash-up of DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs. Beatport, NME and DJ Mag were among the 50+ publications gushing over the lads. The band so dirty they’ll try anything thrice, they then turned their attention to Disney with ‘The Bareback World of Disney’. The band so dirty… The Karova, Ballarat January 9 & Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – January 10.

You Can Busk If You Want To

Out in the Caravãna Sun

Held as part of the Crackerjack Family Fair on March 8, the Bellarine 2015 Busking Competition presents an opportunity to amateur musicians and groups to showcase their musical talents to a large and supportive audience.

Major cash prizes are up for grabs, with the judging panel comprised of professional stage artists. If you’re a little green when it comes to performing, this is as good an opportunity as you’re likely to find. The best thing you can do is hit pointlonsdalebowlsclub. com.au for an application form.

Applications close February 21. Busking terms and conditions will be sent upon nomination. The event is proudly sponsored by Riley Family Builders.

Times are good for Caravãna Sun. Really good. For the third time the band enjoyed a stint in Europe last year, playing to open-air festival crowds in Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland and Portugal. They also recently welcomed new member Ken Allars.

Not a band to take their foot off the pedal, their Under a Southern Sky tour continues the band’s good times on home soil. Kicking off late last year, the tour will take in several festival stops along the way. As for their more intimate moments, they have a gig lined up at Torquay Hotel, Torquay on January 24. The band has been penning new material of late, so the chances are you will hear some new tunes.

You gotta love that.

Black & Blue Sorrows

Ausocalypse 2015

Last year, Joe Camilleri notched up a golden 50 years in the music game.

Arguably the favourite child of the singer, songwriter, saxophonist and producer is The Black Sorrows. Among his 45 albums, 17 belong to The Black Sorrows, the most recent being Certified Blue. While Joe’s talent and grit has helped in the band’s longevity, so too has its “elastic line-up” – over 40 talented musicians have called the band home at some point. The latest version features Claude Carranza, Mark Gray, John McCall and Angus Burchall. Flying Horse, Warrnambool – January 9; Apollo Bay Bowls Club – January 10; Torquay Hotel, Torquay – January 11; and 13th Beach Golf Links, Barwon Heads – January 23.

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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Friends, Romans, countrymen.

Freaks, geeks and the all-too-chic.

Ausocalypse is coming.

Hosted by Bendigo’s Music Man Megastore across Australia Day weekend, Ausocalypse is all about the hard and heavy stuff – because if Australia Day is about anything, it’s about metal. Lining up you have Lord, Orpheus Omega, Eye of the Enemy, Damnations Day, Harlott, Alkira, Temtris, Internal Nightmare, Envenomed, Voros, Abraxxas, Trigger, Amoderndeath, Wounded Pig, Horizon’s Edge, Requiem, Cryptic Abyss, Espionage, Chase the Ace and Neuron 99. Again, Music Man Megastore is your host.

January 23-25 are the dates. Get yourself there.

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Three Strikes Josh Durno, Joel Stibbard and Acoustic Foxx have teamed up for a series of shows around Victoria this month. Josh Durno is the leader of garagerock trio The Sketches.

He also performs solo.

Being a Tasmanian lad, performing solo makes things a little easier.

Fellow Taswegian Joel Stibbard is behind indie rock outfit The Gallant Trees. Acoustic Foxx is Craig Williams, a singersongwriter and guitarist from Melbourne. He cut his teeth in hard rock bands including Precious Nothing and Ownkind before finding voice through Acoustic Foxx.

Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – January 15; Saints and Sailors, Portarlington– January 17; and Babushka Bar, Ballarat – January 23.

A Pokey Face Pokey LaFarge was born Andrew Heissler, apparently receiving the nickname ‘Pokey’ from his mother who would scold him when he was a child. Blending elements of early jazz, country blues and western swing, LaFarge has released several albums, his most recent being 2013’s self-titled effort. He made his Australian debut last year, and such was the response he is back again in 2015. Nu Country on his show at The Corner: “It is very rare to come across a band who can connect so instantaneously with their audience, but Pokey LaFarge had the practically sell out crowd in the palm of his hand from the first song.” Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – April 10.

It’s Time to Getaway The Getaway Plan can join the long list of those who owe thanks to crowdfunding. Taking to PledgeMusic, the band was successful in raising the coin to help with the recording and touring of Dark Horses. After spending a decade with the help of record labels, the decision to go down this path was due to the band wanting complete control. Speaking with Music Feeds’ Jana Angeles, frontman Matthew Wright said: “Every single release the band has done, except for one that we did last year which was just a couple of songs, has been done with the help of a record label and the funding of a record label. We just decided we’re kind of sick of that route because it doesn’t really matter who we work with. I mean, they’re in it for the money generally and we are not, so there always comes a point where we butt heads. We just decided that we wanted to take full control this time and of course, give back to our fans who are responsible for funding it.

The response has been overwhelming to say the least. We didn’t expect it to be moving along this fast.” The Vine, Bendigo – January 23; The Loft, Warrnambool – January 29; and Torquay Hotel, Torquay – January 30.

Have You Got the Stones?

In ripping news for Geelong, siblings Angus and Julia Stone have tagged on a local date as part of their summer tour. As you’re probably aware the duo is spruiking their third album, a self-titled effort released in August last year. Behind the album was Rick Rubin, the man behind albums including Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Johnny Cash’s American Recordings among many, many others. Rick opened up to triple j about the recording of the newie: “The record is the sound of a family healing. I was [initially] told that they weren’t working together anymore, and I reached out and said that if either [of them] were in the US, I’d love to meet. I met with Julia first, and then Angus. I think they had grown apart. It’s not unusual for brothers and sisters to not always get along, and I think they were at a point that they weren’t always getting along. The beauty of the record is that now Julia has told me they’re getting along better than ever before. I think you can hear them caring about each other on this album.” Costa Hall, Geelong – February 26.

Victoria: The Frenzal Rhomb State It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights. It’s time to meet Frenzal Rhomb on their Steroidosonic tour. Ah yes, it would seem as though Frenzal Rhomb have been keeping up to date with the goings-on of the world, with the fun-lovin’ punksters announcing their Steroidosonic tour. Don’t get it? Well, a bunch of bellends at Sydney’s Stereosonic got into a punch-up which led to festival co-founder Frank Cotela calling out “The Roid up Bro’s muscle culture”. Now back to the story at hand. The tour will take in a few shows around Victoria, with three shows taking place within the In the Loop stomping ground. From their Facebook page: “Starting with the Luxembourg of Australia, Warrnambool, and stopping in Ballarat, and Geelong, the Amsterdam of the South Pacific, Frenzal Rhomb will then make a geographically and culturally confused return to little known Benluxian tax haven of Melbourne, for one of the Rev’s Australia Day weekend shows. Proceeds from the Melbourne show will be donated to The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), The Refugee Council of Australia and Oxfam Australia.” The Loft, Warrnambool – January 22; The Karova, Ballarat – January 23; and Barwon Heads Hotel, Barwon Heads – January 24.

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The Long Days of Blue Heat What’s the point in rushing? A good 20 years have passed since Blue Heat recorded a studio album, but with One Day Too Long, a humble title if ever there was one, the drought has been broken.

No excuses were made, with the band offering this: “Too much time had passed by … We had this backlog of songs. It was about time too that we pulled our proverbial finger out and did it.” If nothing else the new album provides a nice little snapshot of the Warrnambool band’s 20+ year career, with the title track being part of the band’s repertoire for almost two decades. Recorded in an improvised studio on a property in Nirranda, the album is rhythm ’n’ blues at its finest. Black Hatt, Geelong – January 10.

Greenstock 2015 On January 10, Greenman Rehearsal Studios in Ocean Grove will host its annual music festival. You have Rockdogs, Crowbait, Shirko, Sam Hanson, Coldshot, Kopious, Skabang, Lost Tacos, In the Esky, Jill Meehan and Feathers of a Brother.

Doors open at 11 a.m.

Entry is a post-Christmas/ New Year bargain of $5.

Families (two adults, up to four children – aged under 12) are $10. Bring your own drinks and chairs. Raffles and stalls will also be part of the day.

Come dressed in green and you could win some cool prizes. Greenman Studios is a purpose-built facility designed for everyone from the beginner to the professional. Hit up greenmanrehearsalstu.wix. com for further details.

Aireys Inlet Open Mic The crew behind Aireys Inlet Open Mic have been hard at work; not just on assembling another firstclass line-up, but giving their website the ol’ spit and polish. At the time of writing only a few artists have been announced, but they’re pretty darn

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good ones with Altitude, Nicolette Forte & Friends, Sarah Carnegie, Sons of May, Audemia, The Kite Machine, Jessey Jackson, Goofyfooter and Imogen Brough the first to put their hands up. All up, the festival will run over three days and across nine stags – with a staggering 160+ performances. Don’t forget that the festival will also welcome a Special Mystery Guest. Aireys Inlet – March 13-15. We’ll do our best to keep you updated.

Apollo Bay Music Festival In 2015 the Apollo Bay Music Festival is taking a breather, at least when it comes to their three-day format. Yep, it kinda sucks, but you can’t blame them. The festival has been going strong for more than 20 years and the long hours have caught up with them. To soften the blow, a few intimate gigs will take place while the team look at how they can make 2016 something different. From their website: “To the community, the players, the foodies, the stall holders, the fundraisers, the buskers, the street performers, the Friends of the Festival, the members, the life members, all our supporters and even that guy who plays alongside his mechanical koala under the gazebo … we say THANK YOU!”

Jack Be Nimble Born and raised in the suburbs of Sydney, bluesman Jack Derwin would be challenged when he moved to north western NSW. The countryside was harsh yet beautiful, but it was his struggle to be accepted a “local” that hit hardest.

Fortunately, he found solace in music. He began writing music at the age of fourteen, channelling the likes of Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd and The Beatles before finding his own voice. Soon enough he was touring through coastal and rural Australia, later Germany and the US. These days you will see his name on just about every blues festival bill. His most recent release is 2013’s Covered All in Blue. Pistol Pete’s, Geelong – January 10 & The Loft, Warrnambool – January 11.

Geelong Laser Tattoo Removal free consultation The Man Who Plays Down the Lane Ah Jordie, we’ve missed ya. Songman Jordie Lane may hang up his guitar in the US these days, but his heart is still in Australia. And so will he be shortly. Heading back our way for his first national tour in 18 months, Jordie will take in over 30 dates, including a few festival spots here and there. Lane’s musical career has been tracking okay for a guy born to a comedian and a clown. He has performed at major festivals in the US, Canada, UK and Australia and toured with a string of names including Billy Bragg, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Old Crow Medicine Show, Neko Case, Cat Power, Ruthie Foster and The Moody Blues. You may have heard about his album Not Built to Last. It has been finding a lot of love locally and abroad, with the Sydney Morning Herald giving it a pleasing 4.5 star review. The album was released internationally in August 2014.

FBi Radio: “Take pieces of Jeff Tweedy, Ron Sexsmith and Jackson Browne, melt them down in a beautiful crucible of music and you end up with Jordie Lane: a truly diverse folk musician.” He will perform as part of a duo with Clare Reynolds. Ararat Live – April 22 & Beav’s Bar, Geelong – April 23.

tattoo removal and fading

18 James St, Geelong 5221 4174 0478 616 905

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Hang on to Your Coathangers Like any good band, The Coathangers started a band in order to hang out and play parties.

They’re as infectious as an STD, carrying on the badassness of Patti Smith and The Runaways as they kick out their aggressive punk rock as if no one is listening. Except people are – lots of people, as the band recently supported Black Lips and enjoyed festival and headlining dates throughout 2014.

March of 2014 saw the release of their fourth album, Suck My Shirt. Pitchfork: “Somehow, on an album called Suck My Shirt, the Coathangers manage to have it all.

It’s well-recorded, wellwritten, and teeming with both force and emotional depth.” The Barwon Club, Geelong – January 15.

Into the Wild Comforts Following a little break over the Christmas and New Year period, Ballarat’s Babushka Bar is back into the swing of things with The Wild Comforts on January 9.

Dedicated to delivering their brand of country music to whoever will listen, the band will get the perfect chance to do just that when they welcome their new album, Silver City Sorrow. Recording took place in March of ’14 on the NSW central coast.

Bill Chambers was at the helm, steering the lads through an album which rides the dusty road through ballads, bawlers, brawlers and heartbreak.

Chambers couldn’t resist their sound, adding his own lines of lap steel, mandolin, banjo and harmonica along the way.

Out on the Growl

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Californian rockers The Growlers are in town to soak up a little of Australia’s summer sun as they perform a batch of shows around the country. Perhaps calling them rockers doesn’t quite do them justice, as there are elements of psych, prog, surf and country in there as well.

Since 2008 the band has released four LPs,

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five EPs and a couple of singles – a pretty bloody good effort by anyone’s standards.

Their latest is Chinese Fountain. The album was created through a two-week stretch at guitarist Matt Taylor’s home in Topanga, followed by stints at their manager’s house and Sea Horse Sound Studio. The Karova, Ballarat – January 15 & The Barwon, Geelong – January 16.

Stringing Along with Stringer It was a busy 2014 for songbird Liz Stringer and the trend looks to continue in 2015.

Described by the Herald Sun as “an oldfashioned, Springsteenstyle storyteller with a soulful, mature voice”, Stringer released her live album, Live at The Yarra, in October last year. The recording features her May 2014 show at The Yarra Hotel in Melbourne in front of an intimate crowd of 100. Performing two sets, including material from her most recent studio release, the best 10 tracks of the night were then chosen for the CD/DVD release. Liz will take in Torquay’s NightJar Market on January 15, before getting cosy with the crowd at the Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs on January 18.

Relax and ChillOut Daylesford’s Queer Country Pride Festival, ChillOut, returns March 6 through March 9. Making its debut in 1997, the festival has become the biggest and longest-running country queer pride festival in regional Australia. While the festival is the first to admit the major cities’ events are far bigger, what ChillOut offers is a relaxed, down-toearth atmosphere. It has always been spearheaded by a community-based organisation, with generous volunteers never being too hard to find. Another cool thing is that it has raised over $200,000 for local charities and worthy causes. No artist/entertainment information was known at the time of writing,

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but if you bookmark chilloutfestival.com.au you should be right.

The Bennies Get Heavy If you party with only one band this year, make it The Bennies.

Having recovered nicely from their New Year’s bash at Party on the Hills (presumably, anyway), the band has announced their Party Whirlwind tour.

Not only will the tour give them the perfect opportunity to party, but it will also give ’em a chance to give Heavy Disco a solid workout. Heavy Disco is the band’s second EP and was released last November. You can count SF Media among the EP’s fans, with Matt Doria writing : “Heavy Disco is incredible.

Unless you hate fun and/or good music, there’s something bound to catch your attention on Heavy Disco.” The Karova, Ballarat – March 12.

Melbourne punksters Foxtrot will lend a hand.

Feeling Crook?

Sydney five-piece Lepers & Crooks had one fine 2014, and they know it: “2014 was an amazing year for us, we have learnt so much and keep developing our craft under the watchful eye and guidance of CM Murphy and his team.

We are so excited to get back out on the road, to re-connect with existing and new fans and perform the songs from our EP, as well as a bunch of new songs we have just written up in Ballina.” Yep, it seems as though their 30+ RAW tour wasn’t enough, with the band announcing a monster 50-date tour to kick off 2015. Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – February 5 & The Loft, Warrnambool – February 27. The tour supports their new EP, Her Kiss.

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Dancing to the Ballarat Beat Can I get a hallelujah? My rockin’ and rollin’ brothers and sisters, Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival is set to shine its glory upon us once again. Seriously folks, if you have been snoozin’, you have been losin’. The Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival is your one-stop destination for all things rockabilly – the music, the fashion, the cars, the beer and, yes, the vibe. Performers in 2015 include The Detonators, Atomic Hi-Tones, Benny & The Flybyniters, The Lincolns, The Satellites, TJ and the Twinspinners, Ezra Lee & The Havoc Band, The Pacific Belles, West Texas Crude and The Sky Rockats. Other highlights include the Miss Ballarat Beat Pin-Up which returns for another run. Who has the looks that kill?

From the team: “Ballarat Beat offers punters a unique opportunity to see music acts from across Australia, classic cars and hot rods, fashion and market stalls celebrating all things from the rockabilly era. Come and play at Rockabilly for one day or all 4 days! Die-hard rockabilly fans will be in heaven, and those new to the genre will find plenty of colour, life, movement and music to entertain them for hours.

The rockabilly crowd at Ballarat Beat is one of the most joyous crowds you’ll find anywhere.” Ballarat – February 12-15.

band, a little rave about it… two, three, four and I’m in… try and sing my nuts off and hopefully be as open and honest as I can.”

Get Your Motor Runnin’ We’re pretty happy with Geelong’s Motor City Music Festival, so you can expect a bit of attention going its way in Forte. There are heaps of artists there – like Amber Lawrence, Jimi Hocking, Electric Mary, Michael Stangel, Painters & Dockers, Mick Thomas & the Roving Commission, The Black Sorrows, The Detonators, Claude Hay, Chris Wilson and Broderick Smith to name just a few. There are heaps of rides and attractions – like The Tornado, Dodgem Cars and a Rock Climbing Walls. There is even a designated family day that will take place on the Sunday of the event.

That one includes a fireworks display. Want to know more? Hit motorcitymusicfestival. com.au. March 6-8.

Ukrainian Film Festival

Geelong’s Pivotonian Theatre is thrilled to present the Ukrainian Film Festival, the first of its kind in Australia.

According to the Census of 2011, there are about 38,000 Ukrainians living in Australia.

Of that, Melbourne and Sydney home the largest populations.

Both current and classic works will feature, sourced from the nation’s film archive, the Dovzhenko Centre.

Opening night will see the screening of documentary Maidan

by Sergei Loznitsa.

Maidan, from Maidan Nezalezhnosti, has become the shorthand for the movement that toppled pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. The Ukrainian Film Festival runs from January 15 through January 21. Hit pivotcinema.com.au for further information.

Ross is Boss The older he gets, the cooler Ross Hannaford seems to become.

Hannaford has been performing since the sixties, teaming up with Ross Wilson

for The Pink Finks, a relationship which would culminate with Daddy Cool. Hanna, as he is affectionately known, will be taking to Wolseley Wines this Sunday, January 11 with his backing band The Disco Rocker Trio.

Disco rocking in the trio are Tim Neal, Simon Dawe and Jeff Raglus.

Doors open 3 p.m.

Paul Woseen is Still Screaming Paul Woseen’s relationship with Dave Gleeson stretches back a long way, however the Screaming Jets remain the crowning achievement, for whom Woseen provides bass and backing vocals. He was also responsible for helping pen some of the band’s biggest songs. In late 2013 he released Bombido, his debut solo release.

The acoustic affair features new material as well as reworked versions of Screaming Jets classics. The Loft, Warrnambool – January 14 & Babushka Bar, Ballarat – January 15. Paul: “I’m going to approach the shows like I pitch songs to the

It’s a Wrap for Flap!

Following a seven-year innings, Flap! has decided to call it a day. It has been a wonderfully vibrant career for the folk jazz party band, one which kicked off in Copenhagen and played out to The Secret Garden Party, The Brixton Academy and even The Femø Jazz Festival. Then there was their nude gig at Bar Open.

From the band: “We’ve got some big news for you: We’re breaking up. We’ve had some real good times these last 7 years but it’s time now to call it a day … There’s too many of you to thank individually, but you know who you are: Thank you!

THANK YOU to all the people who’ve ever played with us, to the bands we’ve supported and the bands who’ve supported us. To the people who’ve helped us out when we needed a loan, or a hand, some advice or a bed to crash on. To the radio stations, the venues and festivals. To the people behind the scenes; the tech people, the bar staff, the managers, the producers, the booking agents and all the rest of you. Most of all, to you: the beautiful people that came and saw us play; who made so many of our nights so very special. We love you. We’re very grateful to you all: you’ve made us very happy.” Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – January 17.

jen cloher Written by Amanda Sherring

Scroll through Jen Cloher’s Facebook and you’ll soon come across a picture of her sitting alone at a small table with a glass of wine as her only company as she stares out the window contemplating the year. But did anything stand out?

“There’s been a few,” Jen says. The list is quite long, and easily shows that Jen has had a pretty great year.

Amidst releasing a 10” inch vinyl compilation through her record with fellow musician Courtney Barnett, playing Meredith Music Festival and releasing a few duets with Tim Rogers, performing a show at the Howler as Stringer Dyson Cloher was her highlight.

“It was just one of those magical shows where everything felt really good, it sounded really amazing and the audience were just incredible. It was just one of those stand-out shows. It’s been a really great year,” she beams.

To top off the great gig, Jen drove to Meredith to perform at – as she puts it – one of the best festivals in Australia the very next day to

play a Sunday slot.

“It’s kind of weird because everyone is up on the Saturday night – if you know what I mean – and Sunday is much more chilled and people are just waking up and hearing your music,” she says.

“You’re kind of playing to a crowd that’s sitting under trees, feeling the sun and just trying to get rehydrated.

It was hard at times to tell whether people were digging it or not because they’re not all out in the paddock going crazy. Then we got so much great feedback so we realised that, actually, a lot of people were there listening, which was great.

“It was one of those festivals that I’ve always wanted to play so it was good to finally get there and play with a band that I love and songs that I’m really enjoying playing.”

It mightn’t have necessarily been a hectic year for Jen, but for now the musician is taking some time out in Rosebud with friends – and two brown labs – before she heads to Beechworth Music Festival in early 2015.

“From all accounts I’ve heard of the festival it’s really great and they’re all real big music lovers,” she says.

“And I think on the grounds is like an old asylum or something, so that’s interesting.

I’m sure it will have a vibe about it.”

As for a new album, there were whisperings of a possible 7” vinyl single to be realised in 2015, further embracing her new rock’n’roll sound, but for anything longer it seems like we’ll have to wait until 2016 – though Jen promises it to be a goodie and possibly her best yet.

“It’s just a bit more confident and we’re taking more risks as players. When we recorded Blood Memory it would have been the very beginning of 2013, so you just naturally evolve as a band. It will definitely be in the rock vein but even more dynamic and interesting, Jen says.

When&Where: Beechworth Music Festival – January 24

When&Where: The Toff in Town, Melbourne - January 14, Beavs Bar, Geelong - January 15, The Loft, Warrnambool - January 16, Jive Bar, Adelaide - January 17

LEWES Q&A

LEWES are a hardworking 6 piece based in Hobart. They have had a very big year last year and 2015 looks to be even bigger for the band who just brought in the new year with a slot at the Falls Festival, Marion Bay. Hi guys, thanks so much for taking the time to chat to Forte, what are you up to at the moment?

Relaxing. The last few weeks have caught up with us for sure. Between long showers and group yoga sessions we have it all set until our tour next week.

If you were to describe your style of music beyond, ‘post-rock’ how would you describe what people can expect from LEWES tracks?

Bass drops, a heap of them. We try to incorporate whatever feelings we have into our sound, being from a heap of musical backgrounds it makes putting different parts together real interesting at times. We are yet to have me spitting rhymes but that remains to be seen.

2014 was a huge years for you guys, releasing your debut EP, ‘Equinox’ how and where did you record and how have you found the response to date?

Equinox was mixed and mastered by Jake Long

at Red Planet Studios.

The response has been beautiful with some radio spots and online response. Also managed to get it down as one of ABC Radio’s Album of the Week. Pub crowds always insist there should be at least one Bon Jovi cover on it though...

You have toured pretty solidly throughout the year also, including a few great festival slots including Falls Festival in Marion Bay, how was that?

We enjoy all of our shows because they never start and end the same.

It’s cool to do our own thing in front of people that just didn’t come prepared; we’re either

throwing shapes or falling off stage. Either way’s fine.

Falls was intense though..

You also supported the likes of Delta Riggs, how did you enjoy supporting such bands and what were some of your favourite shows of 2014?

There’s a heap of highlights from all shows to be honest. I imagine my personal favourite was a Halloween show where we came as zombie wiggles.

The band was a six piece then so we had to have two red guys. Any show with face paint or glitter has ended positively.

You are about to embark on a four-date tour through Victoria and Adelaide, what are you most looking forward to from these?

New friends. Good times. We’ve got a heap of dudes on the tour that we’ve played with before, and we’ve never been to a heap of the towns so the trip will be total vacation. Ten days in a van will be interesting though, real messy.

What can a fans expect from these upcoming shows?

Everything we look to expect! We both are as much of the experience as another. But that’s all just hippy talk.

Any other news you have for us?

Yes. Party time! Excellent!

"We enjoy all of our shows because they never start and end the same."

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kim churchill

When&Where: The Corner, Melbourne – January 15 & The Karova, Ballarat – January 17

Kim Churchill has just finished a mammoth week playing at Falls and Southbound.

Chatting to me from Bunbury Airport in transit to Sydney, It’s been a busy 2014, as he relates. “I’m trying to get back on the horse after a pretty hectic New Year’s – playing Falls and Southbound was quite intense because they’re all over the country. Every morning is a 3 a.m. flight to get to the next festival site; be in that festival atmosphere and realise how much you enjoy it, and then you’re flying out once again. I got to see alt-J, though, and their new album is amazing. I love it. Their live show is pretty damn epic as well.”

Having won the Youth Folk Artist of the Year award and the Bluesfest Busking competition early in his career, Churchill has developed into one of the hottest acts in Australia and around the world and spends the majority of the year in Canada and North America. Over the next few weeks, Churchill is touring all around Australia in support of his third album, Silence/Win. The new album was recorded in the summer of 2013 in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island and sees a change in Churchill’s recording methods, by enlisting producer Warne Livesey.

Speaking about that turning point in his music, Churchill

believes that it was a decision that had to be made for his music to move forwards. “Paradoxically, by relinquishing control to somebody else I think this record has a clarity and has really captured who I am in a way I was unable to achieve on my own.”

If you haven’t checked out Churchill’s music since his brilliant debut record With Sword and Shield, which came out a few years ago now, there is quite a different polished and refined sound to his latest release. ‘Window to the Sky’ is the most successful single of this release, and something that Churchill urges you vote for in the Hottest 100.

“I’ve been doing all the right things on social media to try and promote it. I’m not really fussed about where I get in the poll though. It’s nice to be included and recognised, but it’s not a matter of life and death. We’ll just wait and see what happens.”

Silence/Win is a collection of songs that is very personal, and he talks about life on the road and living as a world traveller. “I think that this album is the first real one that I feel confident taking all around the world with me. It’s the first time I’ve collaborated with a producer, and Warne is a genius.

“I actually think that I preferred this process a lot more. I’ve learned

LOCAL FEATURE Written by Tex Miller

a lot this time around and think that the fun we had in the studio translates to this record. It’s been a nice evolution through my debut to where I am at the moment.”

Like any successful musician, Kim’s progression to where he is today has been a long, hard road full of both up and downs. His parents encouraged him to pick up the guitar at age four and from there he has never looked back. It was at age six, when his father got him into classical guitar, when the real work began – many years of classical examinations from grades one to eight (the highest you can achieve) resulted in Kim deciding to make a change in musical styles.

There were many different influences on Kim’s newfound musical love. Probably the biggest was watching videos of players overseas accomplishing what was before impossible on the guitar. “A guy called Andy McKee did a song called Drifting and that is in the top five most watched clips of all time. That was a big influence for me,” Kim states.

When Kim was seven, his dad bought him the Led Zeppelin IV record, and since that day this classic record has inspired Kim immensely. “I listen to that album almost every day. I just love it. As well as Zeppelin, I was inspired by the work of Bob Dylan, and most recently I’ve been getting into a little Jack White.”

Having opened for the likes of Billy Bragg and Michael Franti, as well as playing some big festivals all around the world, most notably Montreal Jazz, Telluride Blues, Winnipeg Folk Festival and the infamous SXSW in Austin, Texas, as a raconteur and travelling

musician, Churchill finds comfort in travelling the world, telling his story wherever he goes.

“I think I find the most solace in not knowing where I am going and not knowing how I’m going to get there. That way each moment contains the seed of mystery and the excitement of receiving exactly what a person with no expectations expects: nothing …

And nothing is the perfect canvas for anything.”

Talking about the opportunity to be back home playing shows, which seems to be somewhat of a rarity these days, Churchill can’t wait for both regional and big city shows. “Being back in Australia is great. I grew up in a small town and I don’t get the opportunity to play smaller shows as much anymore. I’m playing for the first time in Ballarat, and my sound engineer is from Ararat. It’ll be great.”

“Everyone should come down and hear what I’ve been up to the past few years.”

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collarts open day On the 17th January Collarts Music College will open their doors to the public, offering an insight into student life within their music, audio and management degrees.

The Open Day is your opportunity to find out more about a two-year Bachelor Degree in Music Performance, Audio Production, or Entertainment Management.

All degrees are taught by industry leaders who connect you with industry professionals as you gain hands-on practical experience and skills while being surrounded by a great network of passionate peers. You’ll also have the chance to check out the college’s innovative and dynamic music and audio facilities, watch live music performances and grab a bite to eat while meeting teachers, staff and students.

Find out more about a career in the music industry or register for the Collarts Open Day on their website collarts.edu.au or call the college with any questions (03) 9281 8888.

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When&Where: Saturday 17th January, 10am to 3pm, 55 Brady Street, South Melbourne 3205

blue heat Written by Abbey King

It’s been a long time between recordings, but later last year Warnambool Rhythm ‘n Blues Legends, Blue Heat, released their latest studio recording in over 20 years. I caught up with frontman Marco Goldsmith ahead of their first show in Geelong for more than four years, at the Black Hatt this Saturday.

“It’s been great, we’re kind of a seasonal band in a way, we usually hit the Summer Season, that’s when all the festivals are happening, we sort of hibernate for a part of the year, although last year what we did in that time was we recorded a new album, which we released in September!” Goldsmith says.

After touring as a 7 piece for much of their career, the band trialled a new look outfit in 2013, featuring 5 members and it was

just too good! Marco and his band were so pleased that they saw no other option than to continue this way playing shows and finally putting out a new studio album.

‘One Day Too Long’ was released in September 2014 and is the title of the third track which has been in their repertoire for two decades, proving that some things are better left saved.

“The shows have been going really good, the album had been really well received, it’s number two on the Australian Blues and Roots Chart, which is great, we haven’t managed to hit number one just yet but we’re certainly pretty pleased with that!” Goldsmith says.

The band now consists of Marco on guitar and lead vocals, Barry Galbraith on drums, his brother Graeme on bass, Brad Harrison on sax/vocals and Paul Lemke on trombone/backing vocals. However when attending one of their shows, you’re never too sure exactly who

will be joining them on stage, with plenty of talented family and friends standing by to help out!

With accolades including Best Australian Blues Album of the years in 1995 and Australian Blues Band of the Year, in 1997 the band even supported R & B royalty B.B. King. After 23 years, the band don’t look to be slowing down, having recently played over New Year at the Moyneyana Festival in Port Fairy and their annual ‘BLK & BLU’ show at The Loft with comrades ‘Blackwood Jack’.

“It was really great fun, we set both bands up for the last set, it was a musical powerhouse really, so much fun! There’s a real family connection there too, Barry and Graeme’s nephew plays bass in Blackwood Jack and also Barry, our drummer’s son is the drummer in Blackwood Jack.”

The season has only just begun for the band, who have certainly earned their reputation as one of the hardest working Blues outfits of the region. They will also be appearing at the Thredbo Blues Festival, ‘Blues At The Briars’ in Mt Martha, ‘Rock on the Home Straight’ at Hamilton Racecourse, Yackandandah Folk Festival and ‘LIVE at the Star Port Fairy’, not bad for a band with 23 years in the mix.

After the Summer of shows, the band plan to head back into the studio to lay down another album, “We’re planning to, not have as long between albums this time.” he laughs, “Considering, it’s been 20 years since we last did a studio album!”

Marco is now based in Geelong, so the upcoming show at the Black Hatt will not disappoint, its the bands first show in the area for four years and the first time they will perform in the town as a 5 piece When&Where: Black Hatt, Geelong January 10

the underhanded Q&A

You’ve seen, loved and listened to them play around Geelong for the past seven years, and as of last month they just released their debut EP Superpsycho. They really need no further introduction, so what follows is our chat with Ian from The Underhanded.

Thanks for taking the time out to chat to Forte, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?

We’re doing great, as I write this we’re about to demo a new track in our lounge in Coburg. Always up for a chat to forte.

It must be a pretty good feeling having your debut EP out for everyone to listen to. How long was that in the works for?

It was a good five years ago that we came to the conclusion that we should make an EP, and some of the tracks are from that time. That’s not

to say we spent five years working on this EP, but certainly it was a long time coming. To have music out there that people can dig is great, and the response has been awesome.

You just launched the EP at the Barwon Club as well, where you’ve said you pretty much grew up in.

Are there any memories of Barwon Club that really stand out for you?

Ah yes, the BC is certainly like our home turf, we’ve played there so many times. Best memory was probably River Rocks this year, especially rocking out to Tumbleweed with mates from all the other bands, there was something special in the air that night. The worst, would have been playing with a band from Germany, and not a single punter turned up – there was literally a cricket in the corner of the room.

The artwork on Superpsycho is pretty amazing too, who was responsible for that?

That is the fine work of the legendary Glenn Pierce, a man who’s dark imagery graces the covers of some old Bored! and Splatterheads records. I met him at the Powder Monkeys show at the Tote and he was super friendly. He’s been so supportive, just sending us rad artworks to use for free. Glenn, you rock!

I saw too that you’ve even been blogged in Sweden, that must be pretty awesome knowing that people on the other side of the world are listening to your songs?

Yeah, its great. The internet really makes the world your oyster. It’s kinda cool that we started checking Swedish bands like Truckfighters and Witchcraft on blogs a few years ago, and now it’s going the other way. Sweden, we’ll tour in exchange for your secrets of the Fuzz order.

I guess lastly, things are still pretty fresh for you guys, but what can we expect of The Underhanded for the new year?

Putting out our first release will really open some doors for us, so there are many plans for the next year. There’s a tour on the cards for the first half of the year, hopefully with our NZ bro’s Stone The Crows – already been colluding with Al (Barwon Club) about the Geetroit stop. There will also definitely be another release next year.

Thanks again for chatting with us, anything you’d like to add before we finish up?

Well, I’d like to thank Geelong for all its support over the nearly seven years we’ve been playing together, and we really look forward to seeing the other bands to come out of the bubbling cauldron of rock’n’roll that is Geelong.

When&Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – December 20 RELEASE: Superpsycho available from bandcamp now.

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FROC K IT

T H E NIG H T V IBE

NINE CLOTHING ITEMS YOU NEED ON HOLIDAY

Written by Tex Miller / thenightvibe.com.au

Written by Jessica Alves

Instagram @jessicazalves youtube.com/msbonvivants It’s the time of year when everybody is visiting family or going away for New Year’s or just simply getting out of dodge for a few weeks to recharge. I’m planning on doing the same thing myself in a few weeks’ time, and yes, I have already packed. I have to pack light, which was a challenge for me, so I decided come up with nine pieces of clothing that I absolutely HAD to bring with me, and figured it wouldnt hurt to share it with you guys as well!

I’ll never go anywhere without a white, black and grey t-shirt. They go with pretty much everything, and they can be dressed up or down, so it’s a no-brainer.

I’m travelling to a warmer climate, which is why denim shorts were a priority packing item. They’re easy to chuck on and off around the pool and are very likely to go with whatever other clothing items I pick up on the way, of which there will undoubtedly be a few.

I do love my buttondowns, and I have a quite few that are very lightweight and hot weather friendly, so I’ll definitely be taking one of them. The real task is deciding which one to pack.

Shift dresses are a practical

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lightweight and no-fuss item of clothing that definitely comes in handy when you need an outfit in a pinch or as a cover-up when on the beach.

On the topic of dresses, I recommend bringing a maxi dress with you for the same reasons you would bring a shift dress. Consider investing in a dress made of light, high quality material, so it can be yet another item that can be worn day-to-night.

I know pants are not something you’d think to bring to an island getaway, but on the off chance it gets a bit chilly, it’s better to play it safe. I’m bringing a very casual and baggy pair of slacks with me that could easily be paired with a pair of heels to dress up, or with a pair of footbed sandals to dress down.

Lastly, shoes. You probably want to take a few pairs with you. Start off with a pair of runners that could be worn on the plane over and might also come in handy if you’re planning on doing any hiking or nature walks.

You also want a pair of sandals.

Any ones will do, just as long as they’re versatile and basic so it’s easier to pair them with outfits. I’m going with, you guessed it, footbeds.

Finally, you should probably bring a pair of heels, just in case you end up going somewhere fancy – and remember that you can always opt for wedges if you’re

a bit unsteady on your feet, like I am.

Congratulations, you’ve successfully packed enough to last you the trip, but left plenty of room for other necessary odds and ends, like, you know, more clothes…

So it’s January 2015 and it’s a very exciting time of year: with the New Year means new music. But with that said, how do you make an informed decision about where to go and what to look out for in terms of new music? Well, I am going to be making it easy for you by giving you a list of the top five albums that I am looking forward to in 2015. From just a quick Google, it’s easy to see what we can expect.

First off, Mr Noel Gallagher is back with his second solo album with his band the High Flying Birds. As the main songwriter for Oasis for many years, it’s pretty easy to see that Noel has a handle on writing a pop song. Having penned ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’, it’s easy to see that this album is going to be nothing short of brilliant.

Yes, Oasis may be one of my all-time favourite bands, and so this making my list of most anticipated albums of 2015 is a little biased, but the set of songs that he released on the debut disc back in 2011 are simple pop rock gems and something that you should get around to if you haven’t already. Having already released the first single, ‘In the Heat of the Moment’, there is speculation from the music community that Chasing Yesterday could very much be better than their previous release. It’s only a matter of weeks until we can get our hands on it – it is released on

March 2.

Although they released a standalone single in 2013, ‘Your Body is a Weapon’, The Wombats are no doubt going to be making a return to our shores at some time this year. It’s been four years between albums and talking to Tord leading up to their Falls Festival show 12 months ago, he said it wasn’t very far away.

Understandably, The Wombats definitely don’t want to rush things, and if their previous work in anything to go by, this is surely going to be worth the wait.

Having listened to their albums relentlessly since 2008, if they announce an Australian tour or sideshow, I would highly recommend trying to nab tickets. They put on an electric live show and something that is unmissable.

Before Glitterbug’s release on April 6, I am sure that we are going to hear some more tunes and that they will be in high contention for when the Hottest 100 2015 rolls around.

Having blasted out your computer speakers in early December, it is only a matter of days until we get the new album from Mark Ronson.

Most well known for his album Version, which featured Amy Winehouse singing ‘Valerie’, he is back once again with another group of funky collaborations.

‘Uptown Funk’, featuring Bruno Mars, took him to the top of the charts in the UK for the first – and if that’s anything

to go by then it will certainly be able to get you up on the dance floor. Released on January 27, it is possible that Uptown Special may feature on top albums of the year lists in December.

After making a statement in December, Coldplay is set to release their new album, A Head Full of Dreams; seen as like the Harry Potter series, it may be a while before we hear from these lads again. Ghost Stories, their album from 2014, was a little hard to get into, yet it will be interesting to see what direction this new LP takes. Maybe it could be a return to the acoustic shadings of their 2000 debut Parachutes?

No album release date on this yet, but a world tour is sure to follow – be sure you don’t miss it.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the xx, as they released their second album, Coexist, in 2012, and so with that said it’s about time that we heard something new from the band. They are currently working on it in Texas, so hopefully throughout the year we hear some new music.

There are a lot more albums to discover in 2015, so Happy New Year Forte readers and may all your albums be good ones.

the beautiful girls Written by Alastair McGibbon

Mat McHugh is a fiercely independent musician, and proud of it. He likes to do things his own way, whether it involves touring, working on new music or just living life the way he wants to. He has performed under a number of different aliases – either solo, or with a backing band consisting of friends and musical partners – but stresses that it’s all the same people – and their shared passion – driving it. While performing as Mat McHugh and the Seperatista Soundsystem, McHugh endured continuous questions about his project The Beautiful Girls – was the band broken up? Were they releasing new material?

When were they performing again? In the end, McHugh had enough.

“There was so much weirdness about the whole thing,” he said. “People had all these weird questions about The Beautiful Girls. I was always saying, ‘Every single person here is in The Beautiful Girls, and we all make the records and I play the stuff on them’. It just got beyond the point of me explaining it. It got to the point where I just said, ‘Stuff it, we’ll bring it back’.”

Despite being a loose project rather than a full band, McHugh himself admits that he’d fallen into the habit of considering The Beautiful Girls a “proper” band. “I had this preconception in my head where I always felt the need to present (the project) – even though I’d chop up the records and sample them, and sequence them however – as a real ban,” he said.

“We’d fallen into this trap – even though the band’s line-up changes a lot between shows, there was this preconception of what it was; the promo photos were just of the same three guys, like it was a threepiece band. It was just a thing that we ran with for a while, but I felt like it was disingenuous. It was pretty confining and I felt trapped by it.”

With the pressure from fans mounting, McHugh decided that it was time for The Beautiful Girls to

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When&Where: Torquay Hotel - January 16.

make a return. With a stack of songs ready – previously earmarked for his solo work – he was ready to begin production but hit a significant roadblock early on: funds were tight, and album production needs money.

With intense fan support behind the project, McHugh decided to take the leap and raise funds for the album via crowdfunding.

“People have always been pretty supportive of the independent ideal, and have been supportive of me and our collective,” he said. “That support is still strong, and I thought that it was a chance to fund the record that needed to be made, on our own terms, but also

involve people and give them stuff that hadn’t been made available before now.”

With Dancehall Days done (released in October 2014), The Beautiful Girls have set out on tour – and living the life, playing shows along the Australian coast over summer.

“The summer tours are always the ones that we’ve set up personally because we’re greedy and we love playing along the coast,” McHugh said.

“They’re always the ones where you pinch yourself and say ‘Is this real? Is this what we really get to do?’ It’s our reward for grinding it out for the rest of the year.”

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forte 39

40 forte

Acoustic Foxx Josh Durno

Joel Stibbard

Victorian Tour

Thurs

January 2015

Jan 15

Music Man Megastore, Bendigo

Thurs

Jan 22 The Wesley Anne, Northcote with PLUM GREEN

Sat

Jan 17

Saints & Sailors, Portarlington

Fri

Jan 23 Babushka Bar, Ballarat

Sun

Jan 18 Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford with RACHEL CLARK

www.acousticfoxx.com.au

http://joshdurnoandthesketches.bandcamp.com

www.thegallanttrees.com

forte 41

jeff lang Written by Tex Miller

Over the years, local Geelong lad Jeff Lang has developed into one of the best Australian guitarists around. His ability to work with a wide range of musicians to create something unique is what keeps drawing people’s attention time after time. Back in Melbourne and chatting in the lead up to Christmas, Lang is excited about his new project he has on the go, Maru Tarang, which he is touring in February and March.

To coincide with the tour of this new world music extravaganza, the group is about to release an album, which was solely recorded in India. In addition to this, his latest solo effort, I Live in My Head a Lot These Days, has been received quite positively since its release last year. It’s also fair to say that Mr Lang has been quite busy. Having performed at the Rajasthan International Folk Festival a few times, it was the idea of the director of the festival that Maru Tarang was born.

“The director is very encouraging about getting the local musicians to play with the touring acts playing at the festival. He had seen Bobby and I playing in Australia and thought we would be the perfect fit for Asin Langa and Bhungar Manganiyar. Asin plays the Sindhi sarangi, which is like the Indian violin, and Bhungar plays the khartal, which is like castanets, so a percussive instrument.

“I think that we have a broad range of instruments in this band and that and the different musical stylings and influences create something fresh.”

Amidst rehearsals to play at the Rajasthan Folk Festival, Lang thought it would be a good idea to head into the studio and see what happened. The result is the forthcoming album, which will be released within the next month. Talking about the sessions, the language barrier made this experience one of the most enjoyable, and peculiar, of Lang’s career.

“We decided quite quickly that we wanted to record these songs and so we had to find a studio on the run, so to speak. We found a studio, it was small and cramped but we could see each other. You might choose to do it in a big concert hall or a church, but we made the best of what we had available. I think the finished product is something that we’re all proud of and we can’t wait to take it out on the road with us.”

Talking about returning to Port Fairy once again, Lang is excited about what he has in his arsenal this time around. Discussing whether he has seen a change over the years, Lang feels that keeping the spirit and vibe throughout has always been a philosophy throughout for Port Fairy. “It seems that they have built the festival to be as big as they want and they still maintain that community aspect to it.

“It’s exciting to see what people will make of the new project because the collaboration is so different to what I normally do. It’ll be cool to see what people make of it.

“They have some really good musicians there and one

of my all time heroes, Richard Thompson, is playing and that is already a plus. I’ve had the chance to open for him in the States and he was a lovely chap. It’ll be good to catch up with some old friends. I can’t wait.”

When & Where: Port Fairy Folk Festival & Brunswick Music Festival

vika and linda bull Written by Tex Miller

One of the standout tracks of Paul Kelly’s Merri Soul Sessions is ‘Sweet Guy’; a Paul Kelly classic, the lead vocal is by none other than Vika Bull. About to head out on tour with Kelly over January and February, this is where we begin to chat ahead of their performance at Motor City Music Festival over the March long weekend.

“This record that we have made with Paul is something very different as to what you’d usually expect.

It was really good fun and from the outset he wanted to make a soul record and he wrote all these fantastic tracks. There are many different people singing and collaborating on this album and I think that’s one of the main factors. It feels very inclusive and I can’t wait to get out on the road with it. It’s a four-month tour all around Australia and it should be good fun.”

Having sung with Kelly for a number of years, Bull feels that this album was the most fun to be involved with because of the number of musicians and singers involved with it. Over the years, the Bull sisters have had the opportunity to support and work with the likes of Billy Joel, Joe Cocker, Sting, Bob Dylan and Paul Kelly in addition to their solo careers; yet it all started in the mid-eighties upon being asked to join The Black Sorrows.

“We were fresh out of school and had a hit with Chained to the Wheel and went touring the world for seven years. It was pretty full-on and Linda and I

didn’t realise what was happening, how lucky we were to be touring on that scale and being looked after.

“Looking back, I wish that it could have happened a little slower so that we could appreciate it a little more. We were chucked into the deep end and singing six nights and that really help build up our vocal chops.”

Supporting musical legends such as Dylan and Joel meant that Vika and Linda were thrust into the big capacity venues, and although they are thankful for the opportunity, it was a little overwhelming at the same time. “Although it was very fun to work in those venues with big production and sound, it was very daunting as well.

You’re a little bit out of your depth and the crowd

"We are really looking forward to coming back down to Geelong."

from the making of our first album and working with Adam Rhodes, that we can use to develop our music further. We also had the opportunity to go to Sing Sing studios in Melbourne to record two of the songs on the album, which was another experience that allowed us to work with some great producers.

Do you think it helps at all being siblings during the recording and performing process?

Not really, it just gives us more of an excuse to fight about things because we are siblings haha!

How do your parents feel that you’re pursuing music instead of working on the dairy farm? Was that ever an option for you?

Our parents are really supportive of our music because they themselves

have always been involved in it. Our parents would rather us chase our dreams if that’s what we want, but if we suddenly decided that it wasn’t for us than there is always a spot for us on the farm if we want it.

Supporting Dead Letter Circus and Children Collide must have been pretty incredible, how was that experience?

We were excited to be playing with recognised bands for the first time and it was a great opportunity to learn from their live performance while we were just starting out.

Now that they’re ticked off your list, who else would you love to support on tour?

It would be a shorter list to say who we wouldn’t play with, but to name a

aren’t there to see you. I don’t really like doing it because it is overwhelming, but it was a great learning experience nonetheless.”

Over their 25-year career, Vika and Linda have also performed for the King of Tonga for his 70th birthday celebrations, performed in the bullring in Pamplona, and for the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Ruben Carter.

“We are really lucky with our job that we are able to see all of these different places around the world.

“We never really thought we would have these opportunities, but they have been some of the best of our career.”

With a gig lined up at Motor City Music Festival, Vika Bull finished the interview like this: “We are really looking forward to coming back down to Geelong. I was reading up on the festival and it seems huge. Everybody should come down and party with us!”

When & Where: Motor City Music Festival

linch Q&A

Instead of milking cows at their family’s business, Tara and Justin Anderson have paired up with schoolmate Daniel Gilligan to create some super smooth tunes. While no one can recreate the sounds of Nirvana, in LINCH’s debut release there’s an obvious inspiration from the grunge band. We had a chat with them days after their new release about their career in the industry so far.

Hi, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?

Good thanks! We have been working on new material as well as rehearsing for upcoming gigs. We have had some really exciting things happening such as being played on the radio in Perth and Brisbane as well as building a fan base on Facebook and Instagram.

So your debut, LUGUBRIOUS, has only been out for a little while now, are you pretty happy with how the album turned out?

We are extremely happy with how it turned out! Being able to listen to the finished product after all the hard work that was put into it is really exhilarating. We are even more thrilled that people like it and that we have had such a positive response.

And how was the whole writing, recording and production process for you?

It definitely was a new experience that was exciting, tiring and insightful all at the same time. We learnt a lot 42 forte

RELEASE: LUGUBRIOUS out now at all good retailers

few it would have to be The Vines, Muse, Royal Blood and Tool.

We’ve heard that Nirvana, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Silverchair are among the bands you grew up admiring, what is it you love about them?

We love the raw emotion that is tied to their music and their songs are written around issues that we can relate to. Plus their melodies and riffs are extremely contagious.

Given you’ve just released a debut, what’s next for Linch in 2015?

We have a lot planned for next year! We are looking

to secure more radio plays overseas as well as getting more gigs around the Melbourne area. We will be writing more songs as well as possibly bringing out our first music video.

Thanks again for having the chat with us, is there anything you’d like to add before we finish up?

We would also like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to be in Forte magazine and we would really appreciate if people would check out our album on iTunes and take the time to look at our website.

Surf Coast Youth forte 43

Forte Columns

PULP Written by Alastair McGibbon

le monde entier Written by Madelin Baldwin lemondeentier.net

Every year I think back about my favourite trip of the year. This year is a little more difficult, as I had so many other life changes happening – in between changing careers from full time working in retail travel sales, to helping start up a news and lifestyle magazine, to moving house and getting pregnant, and spending almost two months away from home travelling around to new exciting places, it’s been a big one!

In May and June this year I spent more time out of Australia than in, with a combination of work and personal trips.

The first one was to South East Asia with my mum and sister. We did the G Adventures Cambodia on a Shoestring, and not only was the whole trip a complete new kettle of fish for me, my diary blogs of this trip have received more hits than anything else I’ve ever written! It was challenging – traveling with family, going to third world countries, and participating in a group tour; bloody rewarding – meeting a fantastic bunch of people, not one we didn’t get along with, rare for such a small group and exhilarating – travelling by bus was new for me, drop toilets was something I hope never to have to get used to, and the cost of living was a nice change to Europe! This was an express tour, seeing three countries in 10 days, so the knowledge and insight I gained can never be forgotten and I wouldn’t go back and change it.

Next up was a work trip to sail around Croatia for 10 days. It was the most challenging trip I’ve ever been on, where you can either gel with people automatically, or you can feel a bit like a fish out of water.

My budget was much lower than normal and I hardly participated in the social activities. Spending so long away from home and my boyfriend was starting to become a little harder too. I thought Croatia was absolutely stunning, and I felt so blessed to be on such a brilliant tour and spend my days sailing around on an incredible boat. I would definitely love to go back with family and friends to experience it in a different way.

After this, I was home for 36 hours before I was back on a plane to Europe with my sister. After a few days in Paris and Rome together, I flew to my in-laws in the UK and she went on a Topdeck trip around Europe for 16 days. I had a great time relaxing, seeing more of my partner's home town, hanging out with family and getting over a terrible chesty cold I got from all of the flying. I went down to Great Missenden to stay with my Aunty and friends after 10 days up North in Wakefield, and enjoyed the local public walks around the area. I love England, so it was nice to be able to take a deep breath and stop running from city to city.

This year I’ve also been camping in Rye, was chosen by Student Flights to go and film in Bali (and got so sick from food poisoning I haven’t been able to eat shellfish since) and we’re already planning our next trip back to England for Christmas with hopefully a week in Bavaria, though this time we’ll have a small baby with us, so everything is going to be a whole lot different! So I guess I don’t really have a favourite trip, but every single one was different and awesome in its own way and I learnt a lot about myself, and new cultures along the way – I’m pretty lucky!

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

I spent a couple of weeks in New Zealand last year, and thought I should check out the scene over there.

The history of blues in New Zealand dates from the 1960s. The earliest blues influences on New Zealand musicians were indirect — not from the United States but from white British blues musicians, first the R&B styles of The Animals and The Rolling Stones, and later the blues-tinged rock of groups such as Led Zeppelin. The first American blues artist to make a big impact in New Zealand was Stevie Ray Vaughan in the early 1980s.

Other blues-related genres such as soul and gospel almost completely bypassed New Zealand audiences, except for a handful of hits from cross-over artists such as Ray Charles.

I was going to Auckland and, according to Wikipedia, most blues action is further south, and it seemed to be right. The local freebie music paper was not encouraging at all.

The Auckland Jazz and Blues Club was formed in 1992, and has a membership of around 250. It has regular club nights every Tuesday at The Point Chevalier RSA, Great North Rd Pt Chevalier Auckland.

Of course Tuesday nights I was stuck with work commitments!

Still, there are other venues: “Orleans” (48 Customs St East in Britomart) seems to host regular jazz and blues gigs, and there were a few blues artists I managed to track down.

It was no surprise that JT and the Big Easy were one of the first bands I came across. Over 25 years as a performer JT (John Tuala) has honed and crafted a distinct sound, finding his home in the acoustic blues style. He’s always played original songs and enthralled audiences wherever he’s performed.

This year he released an album Jump which has been quite successful.

“I love the energy when I’m performing the blues, the ability to communicate to a room of people, to carry them with me through the music. I’ve tried to convey some of that with this album,” he says.

Ralph Bennett-Eades is a New Zealand blues singer songwriter.

He started singing and playing slide guitar in 1978 after immersing himself in the Mississippi Delta Blues of the early 1900’s. He found his way there via the likes of Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers and Johnny Winter.

Chief Wasabi is an Auckland duo featuring JT, on guitar and vocals, with ex-Los Angeles drummer Greg Tell on percussion. Occasionally they play as a trio with Alex Griffith on bass. They play a mellow selection of blues, R&B and jazz classics.

It’s tempting to be a little selfish and say, well, things are much better here than in Auckland. From this report, they seem to be, but it was a brief visit and I’m certain there will be other artists and venues I missed.

If you have had a better experience over there, email me at Sleepy Hollow and I’ll be glad to be corrected.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first Pulp of 2015! I hope Christmas and New Year celebrations have been kind to you and that many a comic was read over the holiday break. Without any further ado, let’s dive in. First cab off the rank: Kieron Gillen (Young Avengers, Iron Man) and Jamie McKelvie’s (Young Avengers) new(ish) Image series, The Wicked + The Divine. I got onto this one thanks to a tip from a mate from Uni, and boy is it an interesting pick.

Fresh off their highly popular Young Avengers run, this creative dream team has moved on to working on their own creator-owned series, and quite frankly kick ass at it.

The Wicked + The Divine is set in a world where the gods of old walk the Earth – but at a price. Every 90 years, 12 gods of the Pantheon (including deities such as Amaterasu, Minerva and Baal) are resurrected, possessing the bodies of otherwise normal people. These lucky few gain otherworldly powers – healing, the ability to make others orgasm on command (yes, really) and so on – but their powers come with a hefty price tag: from the moment their powers manifest, they only have two years to live.

Seventeen-year-old Sarah is a devotee of the gods; she routinely sneaks out to see them, and upon attending Amaterasu’s “concert” (cue the aforementioned orgasming on command), she, along with the rest of the concert’s patrons, passes out.

When she wakes up she finds herself face to face with one of the most notorious members of the Pantheon: Lucifer. After making an unlikely connection with the brash god, Laura finds herself drawn into the decadent,

PUNK! Written by Christopher Cruz

So, it’s 2015 already … WTF? Where have I been?! Y’all ready to do this?

Okay, so while we’re gearing up for the festival onslaught (hello Soundwave and, for some of us, Future Music Festival), overseas punters are buying tickets to THEIR upcoming festivals in record numbers. So this issue, I’m gonna give you all the skinny on the awesome things coming up that you may not be aware of. You may not be able to get to some of them, but hey, flights have never been cheaper!

The Punk and Disorderly festival is taking place in Berlin, Germany, on the 17th, 18th and 19th of April, with a cracking line-up that has to be seen to be believed (if you’re an old-school kid): The Toy Dolls, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, The Exploited, The Virus, Argy Bargy, Discharge and many, many more punk and ska bands.

Crazy!

Remember the headliners I told you about for the Download Festival in the UK? (sure you do! – Slipknot, Faith No More, KISS, Slash, Judas Priest, Enter Shikari, Mötley Crüe, Muse and A Day to Remember). Well, they’ve announced another batch of bands, and this, too, is a corker: Billy Idol (who’ll be out here in March with Cheap Trick), Rise Against, Black Veil Brides, Lamb of God, Hollywood Undead, Parkway Drive, Clutch, Backyard Babies, Madball, Body Count, Motionless in White and Northlane. There’s more, but I don’t

dangerous world of the Pantheon, dragged along by her new best friend into a level of society that she can barely keep up with. When Lucifer ends up in court over the murder of some would-be assassins – and the judge’s head explodes – Laura strives to prove her friend’s innocence. She turns to the rest of the Pantheon for help – only to find that the rest of the gods aren’t as friendly as she would have hoped.

If you’re thinking that this whole shebang sounds a little complicated, you’re not wrong – I found it hard to keep up with all the different members of the Pantheon, and struggled a little to wrap my head around the story.

Despite a slightly muddled plot, The Wicked + The Divine is still an excellent read. McKelvie’s art is really the standout feature here – every panel is just excellent, with phenomenal use of colour. To top it off, character design is absolutely fantastic: Lucifer is essentially a blonde Ziggy Stardust with a penchant for cigarettes and an explosive temper; Morrigan’s multiple (and volatile) personalities differ as much in style as they do in character; and Woden looks like something out of Tron, only with otherworldly powers.

The Wicked + The Divine is as much an exploration of modern celebrity as it is about the gods themselves, and is one of the most original takes on mythology I’ve seen since Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Chronicles. It’s definitely worth picking up, so if you’re looking for a fantastic new ongoing title, this should be at the top of your list.

have room for them all right here!

Even New Zealand is getting in on the act, scoring many of the big names from the Australian Soundwave line-up for their Westfest Festival on the 3rd of March! Soundgarden, Faith No More, Judas Priest, Fall Out Boy, Frenzal Rhomb, All Time Low, Papa Roach, The Devil Wears Prada, Fear Factory, Escape The Fate, Lagwagon, The Wonder Years and many, many more.

She may not be a punk rocker, but a huuuge congrats to Aussie rapper Iggy Azalea are in order. Her debut album, The New Classic, just went Gold in the US. Always good to see our talent achieve such major recognition.

So, this is pretty stupid. I went to Safeway to buy some drinks on New Year’s Eve, only to be confronted with Easter eggs, bunnies and assorted cream-filled round things. Some of us are still digesting our Christmas leftovers! For shame, corporate fat cats, for shame.

Kinda weird not having a BDO to go to this year, but rumour has it that it’ll be back as Lollapalooza in 2016; which would, essentially, not make it the Big Day Out … So many tour promoters constantly buying each other out and having stupid ideas to re-brand existing festivals and events. Oy! Local modern punks (and all-round spunks) Take Your Own have a limited run of baseball-cut shirts available to celebrate their fifth year of existence.

Choice! Go to their Facebook page or Big Cartel store to order!

And with that, I am OUTTA HERE for another issue – peace!

too heavy to hug

pop culture

Written by Paul S Taylor

Written by Anthony Morris

In case you missed it, the third round of Soundwave 2015 bands was announced and included the likes of King Parrot, Exodus and Steel Panther.

Also included on that line-up is The Smashing Pumpkins. That’s right, that very same band who wrote ‘1979’, which gets played on Gold 104 (I think), that very same band who’s fronted by a vocalist who whinges and whines over the rest of the band’s super simple, super boring instrument practice sessions they call music.

Kids these days are lucky they didn’t have to live through the Pumpkins’ “popular” period. Kids these days are lucky because chances are they didn’t have to watch Billy whinge and whine in video clips on the rage top 50 or Video Hits. And besides, I thought the Smashing Pumpkins broke up?

It’s something I remember knowing, or dreaming, or the dream that came true, because that would then mean they can’t inflict their “songs” on the world again. Kids these days are lucky if they’re into punk or alternative or pop and they want to look back at the great bands of those genres for inspiration then there’s f*ck all chance they’ll even stumble across the supremely uninspiring Pumpkins. Sure, they were on The Simpsons, but who hasn’t been on The Simpsons? Being on The Simpsons doesn’t mean anything anymore … and I don’t think kids these days even watch The Simpsons.

But here’s the insulting thing: I think festival promoters know they can’t announce the Smashing Pumpkins in the first or second round of line-up announcements because announcing them then would mean a drastic halt in ticket sales. I mean, put the Smashing Pumpkins on a bill with other bands, any other band at all, and you’ll see a ticket sale of about three – that’s a ticket for each of the band member’s partner to attend, but not Billy Corgan’s because he has no partner and no one likes him.

So, with that valuable knowledge, festival promoters will announce bands as usual, then, when all the tickets are sold, they do a third round announcement that includes the Smashing Pumpkins! The thing is no one would knowingly pay to see the Smashing Pumpkins live so they’re thrust upon festival-goers the worldover, always in the third announcement, always after the tickets are sold. But don’t worry, kids and festival-goers alike, at least they’re not a surprise support for a Sidewave show for your favourite band … yet.

In other news…

Metallica will be re-releasing Kill ’Em All and Ride the Lightning in remastered deluxe versions this year.

Marduk, with special guests Inquisition, will tear the Northcote Social Club to shreds on Wednesday, January 14.

Marilyn Manson will release The Pale Emperor on Friday, January 16.

The 2015 Melbourne Soundwave festival will be held at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22.

Soundgarden will play Festival Hall on Tuesday, February 24.

All That Remains will release their new album, The Order of Things, on Friday, February 27.

Psycroptic will release their sixth album, Echoes to Come, in March.

Cancer Bats will release their fifth studio album, Zero, on Fri, March 13.

Mastodon will play Festival Hall on Friday, March 27.

January isn’t exactly prime time when it comes to new shows on television. The non-ratings period fillers all turned up a month ago: if you’re after something new, you’re either out looking for downloads of UK Christmas specials (pro tip: this year’s Black Mirror special is well worth a look) or trying to tell yourself that sport is something you watch rather than something you do. But over on SBS they’ve pulled a swifty, with brand new episodes of Australian comedy series Danger 5 starting up Sunday’s at 9.30 p.m. from Jan 3rd (so you’re already an episode behind, sorry).

Usually a January start date would suggest something less than full confidence in the finished project: even the ABC tends to air the local shows they’ve gone off in prime time, so a Jan date might not inspire a whole lot of confidence. But in this case there’s a good reason for the off-Broadway timeslot: series two of Danger 5 was originally scheduled for September, but when the rise of Islamic State became something more than a blip on the news radar the Danger 5 team released this statement: “It is with our deepest disappointment and sadness that we announce a decision has been made to delay the broadcast of Danger 5 Series 2 on SBS. This is due to unforeseen international news events and the recent ISIS actions and it’s felt in the current climate the series might not be received in the comedic spirit in which it was created.

Unfortunately, this delay is completely out of our control and the entire team at Danger 5 and [production company] Dinosaur are truly devastated. At this stage we’re unaware of when Series 2 will air, but as soon as we do, you will be the first to know. We hope that you will stick by us until this time as we do everything we can to show you what has taken the entire team thousands of hours of hard work, sweat and a few tears.”

SBS itself followed up with this statement: “Although Danger 5 was written and filmed before any of the recent ISIS actions and in no way refers to recent events, the network has determined that some themes touched on in this season are potentially sensitive in the current climate and may not be received in the comedic and satirical spirit with which they are intended.” Which raised a few eyebrows at the time, as Danger 5 is a parody of ’60s spy thrillers in which the titular team battles a still-living Hitler in a variety of unlikely scenarios – this week’s episode, for example, sees Hitler hiding out at an American high school, forcing the team to go undercover there to a) foil his evil scheme and b) do a bunch of riffs on shows like 21 Jump Street.

This doesn’t sound like it has a great deal to do with ISIS (unlike US animated spy comedy Archer, which had to rename its main spy agency due to it also being named ISIS) but at a time of heightened sensitivities it’s not hard to see the SBS bigwigs wanting to take the safe course. Which, in the wake of all the kerfuffle about pulling the release of North Korean comedy The Interview, seems to be the way of the media world these days: whatever happened to not letting the terrorists win?

SCHNITZ GEELONG + WAURN PONDS NOW CRUMBING SCHNITZ.COM.AU

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Refining the Palette

BEN QUILTY Quilty is undoubtedly one of Australia’s best-known and highly-regarded contemporary painters. His work is characterised by a gestural painterly style and he is known for his quick working method, which deliberately leaves smears, smudges and almost threedimensional brush marks on the canvas. His paintings depict rural Australia and some of the more challenging aspects of our culture and history. European settlement, the rites and rituals of masculinity, nationhood and the plight of Indigenous Australians are ongoing themes.

The exhibition includes a selection of paintings from his acclaimed Rorschach series, which mimic the ‘ink blot’

LOST IN YONKERS by Neil Simon

tests introduced in the 1920s as a tool for psychological testing.

Each of the paintings depicts picturebook landscape scenes that belie their more sinister history. For example, Fairy Bower Rorschach (2012) captures the New South Wales tourist attraction Fairy Bower Falls, which is also thought to be the site of an horrific massacre of Aboriginal people.

WHERE: Bendigo Art Gallery. 42 View Street, Bendigo.

WHEN: Until 1 March.

INFO: bendigoartgallery.com.au

Directed by Judy Ellis

BILLY CONNOLLY- HIGH HORSE TOUR 2015

After the death of their mother, teenage brothers Jay and Arty are left by their father to fend for themselves in a dysfunctional household, which includes their formidable German refugee grandmother, a childlike aunt and small time gangster uncle who is hiding from the mob.

Legendary comedian, Billy Connolly finally brings his High Horse Tour to Australia.

Hailed as the UK’s most influential comedian of all time, Billy has toured worldwide continuously for the last 50 years, performing to an audience of over 10 million.

Set in the summer of 1942 in Yonkers, New York, laughter and tears come together in this coming-of-age memory play by Neil Simon. Book now.

Billy is currently enjoying the best reception of his career on his current Scottish tour. Don’t miss this!

WHERE: Woodbin Theatre. 15 Coronation Street,

Geelong.

Geelong West

WHEN: 6-21 February.

TIX: gpac.org.au

WHERE: Deakin’s Costa Hall. 1 Gheringhap Street, WHEN: 27 January.

TIX: gpac.org.au

LYONS’ VIEW – the Mayor’s Choice

THE SUMMER READ

Works of art from the private collection of Cr Darryn Lyons, Mayor of the City of Greater Geelong, alongside his choice of works from the Gallery’s collection. The selection reflects Lyons’ keen interest in popular culture and celebrity icons, as well as his passionate pride in his hometown of Geelong. Includes works by celebrated international artists Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Damien Hirst, Stuart Semple and Hayden Kays as well as iconic Gallery paintings by Eugene von Guérard, Frederick McCubbin and Juan Davila.

The Summer Read is back and gives Victorians the chance to discover new, local books. Summer is the perfect time to pick up a book and read.

Choose from a list of ten great books, written by Victorian authors or telling Victorian stories. There’s crime, popular and literary fiction, non-fiction and memoir. Visit one of Geelong Regional Library Corporation’s 16 branches or two mobile libraries to browse and borrow the books and discuss your favourites. Recommend another great read and you’ll be in the running to win up to 50 Victorian books.

WHERE: Geelong Gallery. Little Malop Street, Geelong.

WHEN: Until 8 February.

INFO: www.geelonggallery.org.au

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WHERE: Geelong Regional Library branches.

WHEN: Until 15 February.

INFO: www.gric.vic.gov.au

When & Where: GPAC – From January 23

miss saigon Written by Amanda Sherring

Miss Saigon is one of those stories that everybody knows. In between tales of dragons and princesses, everyone remembers the American GI and Vietnamese bargirl who fell in love during the final days of the Vietnam War. It’s a story we all know, or are at least familiar with, but for producer Peter Wills the decision to choose the production wasn’t as easy as you’d think.

“It’s been a show that we’ve long wanted to do, but the issue has been the casting,” Peter says. “It’s a hard one to cast – the lead roles are extremely big roles so finding people that can do both them is a big challenge. There’s also the multi-ethnic cast as well, so that’s sort of been in the back of our minds in the past when we’ve thought of doing it.”

After a long time of mapping out the issues, Footlight Productions, the theatre company established by Peter and

his wife Margaret in 2003, will “bite the bullet” and show Miss Saigon at the end of this month.

As the curtains open on January 23 for the first performance, it’s not only the first show for the run of dates but the first time the Vietnamese story has been told in Geelong in general. Realising the importance of this milestone, Peter has enlisted the whole cast and crew to do research of the time they are meant to be portraying.

“All of the cast and the

production staff have done a lot of research with the actual factual events at the time. They’ve done a lot of reading and we’ve looked at a couple of documentaries as a group, so they’re very aware of what was factual and what happened,” he says.

Through their knowledge learnt, lighting, costume design and rigorously selected cast, the production will give a clear depiction of where the story is located. Peter is pretty proud of the high quality the team has been able to achieve in the show, and while they mightn’t have the budget of Melbourne theatres, he still puts the Geelong show on par – if not higher – with many of the Melbourne shows.

“The crowd will just be so impressed by the standard of every aspect of the production. As I’ve said, everyone has worked so hard and the standard is as good as you’ll see

anywhere for nonprofessional theatre, and in some cases it’s probably better than professional theatre. It’s going to be of an extremely high standard,” Peter gushes.

“I think more and more people are coming to see shows in Geelong and realising that the standard is quite high and why travel up the highway when we’ve got such good things happening here?”

With the ease of confidence and delight Peter has with the show and the cast overall, there’s no question as to whether or not Miss Saigon will be a success.

The only thing left to do is to come along and witness the Geelong milestone for the Footlight Productions show of the ClaudeMichel Schönberg and Alain Boublil classic Tickets are available now from GPAC.

Refining the Palette

INSPIRED BY NATURE: WRITING WORKSHOP Join Geelong By Nature finalist Gillian Turner, just returned from an artist’s residency in Ireland, for an afternoon of creative expression inspired by the spectacular photography of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.

Gillian will lead discussion of selected images in the exhibition. Participants will use these images as starting points for creative writing in poetry, journal entries, descriptive fragments, or short story. The emphasis in this workshop will be about gathering ideas, and participants will be encouraged to explore new structures and approaches to writing.

vietgone Written by Amanda Sherring

Bookings are required as classes are limited to 10 participants.

It is 29 degrees, the city is swarming with motorbikes, and a young family of three whizzes past with a fully-sized dead pig balanced on the back. A common scene in Hanoi, Vietnam, but something Brett Danielsen wasn’t prepared to witness as he entered the country.

“I just thought, ‘Holy shit, where are we?’ For the first hour after we got there my then girlfriend and I just didn’t talk for about an hour because we were so fascinated by what was out there,” Brett muses. “It was just like this poetic chaos. There’s just so many cars going around and they never seem to get into accidents, even though you’d think they would.”

Having only travelled through his country of birth America, then Mexico and Australia, Brett was eager to travel somewhere he hadn’t been before.

“Looking back I don’t really know what made me want to go to Vietnam. I think it was because everyone always goes to Thailand and Bali so Vietnam just seemed like a different place to go,” he says.

What started as a holiday and a means to share his travels with friends and family – Brett hashtagged

‘Vietgone’ to all his pictures – soon became the perfect opportunity for him to make something of his love of photography.

“It started as a social thing and it started to become bigger when I came back.

I had a bunch of images that I hadn’t uploaded, and I thought, ‘Well these are good, but what can I do with them?’ I’m a graphic designer by trade and photographer for a hobby so I just tried to marry the two really,” Brett says.

Months of work led Brett to the release of his travel photography book – over 100 pages filled with photos, musings, recipes and tips. Unsure of just how well the publication would go, Brett initially printed off just eight copies (two for himself and the rest for others) which sold almost instantly. A similar thing occurred when he printed a following 30 copies, and with it came the realisation that this could

WHERE: National Wool Museum. 26-32 Moorabool

Street, Geelong.

WHEN: 21 January. 1-3pm.

INFO: nwminfo@geelongcity.vic.gov.au

become a much bigger thing.

Brett now has the idea to create an alphabetical collection, with 26 books in total showcasing the wonder of the world.

But realistically Brett’s joy comes mostly from stepping out of his comfort zone in new places and taking photos.

“Essentially that’s all I really want to do. I love taking photos, and people don’t often get paid very well doing that, so that’s

why I’m doing design – though I love design,” he says.

“I think there are ways you can make money out of photography. You just need to find the right area.”

To see more of Brett’s work, check him out on Instagram (@ brettdnlsn) or visit his website vietgone.com.

To purchase Vietgone, visit Den Supply Co at Shop 1/111 Pakington St, Geelong West.

LANTERN BIRD – Karen Redlich Lantern Bird is a collection of acrylic paintings by graphic designer and illustrator Karen Redlich who lives and works in the Colac Region.

Surrealism is the order of the day with overgrown statues, metal birds and dramatic colours. This exhibition is the of many exhibitions and performances at the beautiful Red Rock Regional Theatre and Gallery (RRRTAG) in Cororooke, 8 km north west of Colac.

The site of RRRTAG, a former church and hall, was purchased by a local farmer who recognised the need for arts and cultural enrichment in the sporting focused, small rural community. The Church has been transformed into a light filled Art Gallery and the hall into a state of the art, 72 seat Carolyn Theatre complete with tiered seating projection facilities and all-ability access.

WHERE: RRRTAG. 520 Corangamite Lake Road,

Cororooke, VIC.

WHEN: 10 January – 1 March.

INFO: redrockarts.org.au

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Given that the show explores a few different animals, if you could be any animal in the world what would you be and why?

I am a cat and love Australia for the many sun spots I can find to laze in!

There are quite a few really technical acts within the show. How did the rehearsal and training process go?

When & Where: Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne – Opens January 21

cirque de soleil Q&A with Neelanthi Vadivel

You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn’t marveled at the delights of Cirque du Soleil at least once. We at Forte sure have, and so we chased down Neelanthi Vadivel, former performer and now the Artistic Director, to have a little chat about new production, Totem.

Hi Neelanthi, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?

I’m doing very well, thanks for asking! I am busy preparing the end of the Sydney run of Totem and revving things up for our premiere in Melbourne.

It’s pretty incredible reading about your jump up the rungs with Cirque du Soleil. Was it a great moment for you being able to go from performer to Artistic Director?

Cirque made my transition organic and

welcoming. I remember feeling very excited to get my hands into the planning, training and creativity that the AD role affords.

Was that a role you aspired to from the early days of your career?

I was a very bossy child! Directing and choreographing on my fellow students was something I was always involved in and enjoyed from early on.

You’re doing that role for the most recent show, Totem. Can you give us

a little rundown of what audience members can expect from the show?

A visual feast, as created by the great Robert Lepage. Totem is a nonchronological journey through the various stages of man’s evolution …

Whimsical, romantic and always exciting.

And where did the idea for Totem originate?

Robert was first drawn to the potential that an acrobat presented to represent the various physical stages of man’s evolution from swamp creature to cosmonaut.

From the first nations of the world, creation myths and stories draw many meanings for the animals that share our planet and the totemic importance they have.

As any CDS show, Totem took two years of production to reach premiere – though many of the acts in the show are invited acts and the artists developed the stunning numbers over many years.

It seems with each Cirque du Soleil show they raise the bar. How has Totem developed from previous shows?

Totem differs in its representation of native culture as well as with the lush projections used to inhabit every scene.

Given that you were a performer previously, do you ever get the urge to jump on stage and do the acts with the rest of the crew?

The music on Totem gets everyone’s feet tapping, but I won’t be joining the artists on stage any time soon! I have well and truly retired!

Thanks again for chatting with us. Is there anything you’d like to add before we finish up?

Don’t miss the show! We are waiting for you.

west side story Q&A with Rebecca Fullerton, photo by Maja Pearson

Think you don’t know a thing about West Side Story? How about the Jets and the Sharks?

Making its Broadway debut in 1957, the musical about young love against the odds if for no other reason is known for its teenage gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. The Warrnambool Holiday Actors will staging the play at The Lighthouse this month. We had a chat with Rebecca Fullerton who plays the female lead Maria, the sister of the Shark’s gang leader, Bernardo and love interest of former Jet, Tony.

Hi there Rebecca, you must be pretty excited to be involved in such a classic as West Side Story. What is it you love about the play?

It’s a privilege to be a part of such a wonderful classic as West Side Story. What do I love about production? I suppose the music. The dancing is outstanding; there’s so much of it! I love the acting, too. It’s a difficult production to perform acting-wise, as the emotions that you have to portray are sometimes quite challenging I imagine singing and dancing can be quite a task. Has there been anything you’ve had to overcome in the show as a performer?

I suppose I’ve had to overcome the fact that I’m not Rebecca, I’m Maria. It’s easier to act when you know you’re not yourself on stage. I don’t think I’ve ever or will ever play such an emotional role, when considering the acting. Music-wise, West Side Story is extremely difficult to perfect, both for the orchestra and the cast.

The hardest song for me is definitely A Boy Like That and I Have a Love, which is a powerful and beautiful duet sung by Maria and Anita, played by the spectacular Jacqui Lumsden. Lucky for me, I don’t have too much dancing to do, but my hat is off to the featured dancers and Emily Trigg, our choreographer, of this production.

Seeing as it’s based off Romeo & Juliet, are you a big fan of Shakespeare’s works?

Oh, I like Shakespeare. Recently I had the privilege of seeing the Bell Shakespeare Company perform Henry V at the Lighthouse Theatre. The storyline of Romeo and Juliet doesn’t excite me that much,but West Side Story differs slightly from Shakespeare’s play.

When & Where: Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool - January 14-17

Why do you think West Side Story works so well?

Hmm… it’s probably the racism that makes the adaptation so great. That sounds rather horrible, doesn’t it? But why would two families hate each other so much? The hatred between Americans and Puerto Ricans during the ’50s seems so much more raw and relatable and real.

Do you have a favourite part in the show?

Ooh, that’s tricky… I’m the worst decider! My favourite song is Somewhere, A Boy Like That and I Have a Love is incredible. I love listening to the quintet of Tonight, Officer Krupke is hilarious. Something’s Coming is so catchy … the final scene is a lot of fun to act out…

Lastly, why should people boycott outdoor summer activities to watch your performance of West Side Story?

Well, we sold out our last two productions of Hairspray and High School Musical, so I’d say that’s a pretty good indication as to why everyone should “boycott summer activities” to see West Side Story, haha! It’s such a beautiful, jazzy, loud, crash-bang, incredible musical – a big change of scene to our last two pop-style seasons.

Honestly, West Side Story is one of the most wondrous works ever written; and with such a talented, local cast, why wouldn’t you want to come see it? We’d love your support!

ICE CAN TAKE AWAY

EVERYTHING FRIENDS, HOPES, LOOKS & FREEDOM

­t ¡ªĄàtʾàYď THERE’S NO PLACE FOR ICE

For assistance call DirectLine 1800 888 236 Greater Geelong area 1300 094 187 In an emergency call 000 Produced by Paul Kelly Creative

48 forte

forte 49

chela Written by Emily Hirst

Returning to home soil after earning her stripes in the USA, synth-pop songstress Chela chatted to me about the jam-packed year that was and what she will be squeezing into the year ahead.

Since releasing singles ‘Plastic Gun’ and ‘Full Moon’ and making her mark with Goldroom collaboration ‘Fifteen’ only a few years ago, Chela has been one busy lady. “When I look back, I feel like I’ve done so much and worked so hard … I kind of feel crazy about how much I’ve fit in.” Her sentiment is justly warranted, as 2014 was full of (among other things) wandering the USA on acclaimed tours like Check Yo’ Ponytail, SXSW and Coachella – the latter festival heralding one of Chela’s most surreal moments.

“One of the weirdest nights was the first night of Coachella … I was walking past Jay-Z and Beyoncé and all my favourite artists all within the one hour … Then we went to the Jeremy Scott Party and again all my favourite artists were by the pool hanging out and it was a crazy experience being right in the thick of it. It all seems so normal when you’re actually there, but when you come back to Australia it seems kind of surreal.”

These experiences abroad have acted as a bittersweet muse, with such dizzying highs contrasting lingering homesickness. “I did feel lonely at moments living away so when I moved to L.A. I was quite low and I wrote some sad songs getting those feelings out.

“I think that the people and atmosphere around you influence your songs heavily, and I always write

about things that are immediately close to me at the time, so a lot of my songs from this year have been inspired by things that I’ve experienced in the US.” Despite this raw foundation to her songwriting, she promises a characteristic up-beat buzz to her forthcoming EP. “I’m keeping the style quite similar, [but] there’ll be a range of emotions in there, which is great.” Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long to hear some more of the rhythmic, cool-pop we love. “I’ve got four or five solid songs … so I’m definitely going to make an EP earlier in the year and release that around mid-year [2015] and see how that goes and perhaps make an album from there.”

Back home now, Chela

is relaxing and filling up on family time before she starts making the rounds of the summer festival scene. One of the more exciting gigs on the horizon is Sugar Mountain Festival. “I love the idea of mixing visual art with the performers; it’s such a fresh, unique idea that really makes it stand out.”

As a long-time patron and avid supporter, she will now be taking the stage to perform alongside her friends and other rising talents that are also heating up our homegrown sound. “It supports a lot of local talent and it’s a really good community of people. You know almost everyone there; it’s such an amazing atmosphere.”

Sugar Mountain Festival is set to launch Chela’s New Year with

The Pozible campaign was a very last minute thing. In the end it was either going to be a horrible kick in the guts or a realisation that we should of asked for more money. Thankfully it was the latter. We were so very humbled that many of our fans, friends and family would actually give us their hard earned cash in support for making this album. It was one of the many beautiful things that came out of this whole endeavor.

Which tracks are you most looking forward to playing from the EP during the upcoming tour?

We’ve being playing most of the songs this year already. But it’s great getting to play to new folk. Getting heckled to play happier songs is always refreshing.

Your latest single ‘Cosette’ is a folkier track and features vocal’s from Bill’s daughter, and multi-award winning Kasey Chambers how do you feel she added to the song and what was it like to work with her?

We played a gig with Bill and Kasey while recording.

While we stood in in awe of her vocal prowess, she was asking Bill if she could sing on our album. It was almost surreal having her rock up in the morning with a coffee and just nailed the song in minutes. If Bill is the most lovely and easygoing man in the world, she is defiantly the beautiful female version.

Alt-Country is very much a modern sound, blending together a number of different genres, how would you describe your sound to people about to listen for the first time?

If they’re just about to listen to it? I would shout “STOP, Comforts time” then do the Wild Comfort shimmy which would explain everything. We used to just say we were country, though we clearly aren’t. So don’t ask us. Just listen to the album and make up your own mind. We are alt-country though.

You have had a pretty solid year gigging and touring what has been some of your 2014 highlights Feigning country credibility because we recorded with the Chambers. Did you know we recorded with the Chambers? Because we totally did.

The National Tour aside, what do 2015 hold for The Wild Comforts?

Getting 1000 likes on Facebook. That’s all that matters. Drug-fuelled nights of musical passion can

When & Where: Sugar Mountain Festival, Melbourne – January 24

a bang, and if 2014 is anything to go by, it’s safe to say we can be expecting big things from this little lady.

"I’ve got four or five solid songs … so I’m definitely going to make an EP earlier in the year..."

wild comforts Q&A

Hey guys, thanks so much for taking the time to chat to Forte, what are you up to at the moment?

No problemo. Getting over holiday hangovers.

Preparing for the inevitable 3-week long tour hangover.

Ya just got to keep that train going you know?

Your band has been together for 3 years now, how did you initially get together?

Oddly enough, all of us meet at the exact same time and place. Naked and groggy, waking up outside of KFC covered in chicken nuggets. We slowly regained our energy by eating the nuggets off of each other’s bodies.

We bonded over our love of chicken nuggets basically.

That’s not true. It was just like you live your life and if you go outside occasionally cool shit happens. Cool band shit.

It sounds like you had a great time recording Silver City Sorrow, how did it go and what was it like to work with the legendary Bill Chambers?

We owe a lot to Bill and Jeff McCormack, with whom we did the first few days of recording with. Bill was so enthusiastic and passionate about our music, which gave us high hopes that what we were making wasn’t total shite. It was like a game of who could be more enthusiastic. We’re best buds now. He is truly the most lovely and easygoing man in the world. And he can shred guitar with a beer bottle. Total boss.

Earlier this year you ran a successful Pozible campaign to record the EP, how did it feel to have so many passionate fans willing to dig deep to see you succeed?

“ We bonded over our love of chicken nuggets basically.” only push the cart so far.

Only the encouraging glow of digital thumbs keep us going. Besides from internet friends, we want to have a go at recording ourselves over a longer period of time.

Experiment a little. Also, tour America.

russell morris Written by Tex Miller

Russell Morris is a man that needs no introduction; I’m sure at one point or another we have all gathered round with a bunch of mates and belted out of the infamous chorus of The Real Thing. As a key player to the Australian music scene and a certified ARIA award-winning legend, he is back once again with a new album, Van Diemen’s Land. All about the rich landscape of Australia, Morris is about to head out on the road once again in support of the release. One of the gigs includes the 13th Beach ‘To a Tee’ Karingal fundraiser on January 9.

The acclaim and response by listeners to the new album took Morris by surprise and was a little bit overwhelming, as he relates. “I really didn’t expect that kind of success when it came to sales because it has been phenomenal. It took people by surprise because it was different to Sharkmouth. We had to try and surprise them with something else and hence it is a lot bigger sounding than the previous record. Big stories require a bigger soundtrack in a way and that was the thinking behind going into writing for this album.”

Van Diemen’s Land – if you haven’t picked up a copy yet it is a stunning set of songs – and the recording process, as I was quick to find out, was about the same as Sharkmouth. As you would expect, the decision of culling songs for the record wasn’t an easy one. “We 50 forte

recorded 17 songs and we left four off. We headed in with Shannon Bourne and he played whilst I sang. We recorded the album like that and then layered other parts around it. It was a very simple process and [we] did everything we could to make it rootsy in a way.

I had to make a point of difference to stand out from what I had done before.”

Over the past couple of albums, Russell Morris has called on a stack of friends and exceptional musicians to make a truly unique bluesy sound.

From Diesel to Renée Geyer, Chris Wilson to Rob Hirst, Morris is back – bigger and better than before.

“The original intention was to make something that was rootsy and acoustic, and that was

When & Where: 13th Beach, Barwon Heads = January 9

until Rob Hirst got into the studio. After that, a clear decision to go electric and rockier was made. It’s like having a dinner party and everyone brings a plate of something. All the guests on my albums brought something unique to the table. I can’t wait to see where the next album is headed.”

Not wanting to be labelled a “professional Australian”, Morris is currently working on the third and final part

of albums about Australia. From there, Morris will make acoustic, bluesy music. “I don’t want people to think that I wave a flag and go around telling people to be patriotic.

I wanted to write these three albums and encompass a lot of the stories that I’d heard in times past.”

Heading out on the road, Morris has a string of dates around Australia including playing in Barwon Heads on Friday, January 9 as part of the Music to a Tee concert

series at 13th Beach.

“It should be good to get up on stage and play for a good cause. It’ll be a full band affair, and I can’t wait to share the new album with you when we release it later in the year.”

forte 51

Inside Splinters

Written by Adem Ali

INSIDE SPLINTERS PRESENTS

TOP10

house & club anthems OF 2014

Welcome to 2015, loyal readers! As the dust begins to settle on the year that was, I figured there was no better way to kick off a New Year than on the dance floor. What were the best dance, house, techno and club anthems of 2014? There’s certainly a thin line between dance music and pop music, but, as I will hopefully demonstrate with this list, there’s more to dance music culture than “EDM”, Avicii or Skrillex – and it’s a lot more exciting too, provided you have the patience for songs whose total running time generally extends beyond four minutes.

2014 was the year I really started to gorge heavily on dance music again, dreaming of dance floor moments across a wild collection of Berlin’s greatest nightclubs, dance floor moments I had myself spent a large portion of March last year immersing myself in.

Without further ado, here is a list of the ten greatest dance bombs of 2014.

#01.

WATERMÄT ‘Bullit (Original Mix)’

The biggest, most refreshing dance bomb of the year came from French DJ and producer Watermät via the brilliant Spinnin’ Deep stable. Not only was ‘Bullit’ named Pete Tong’s Essential Tune of the Week on BBC’s Radio 1, it also holds the coveted title of being the most shazam’d song in Ibiza this year, which really tells you all you need to know about this instant classic. That ear-worm of a riff comes in and is bloody undeniable, and the almost birdlike siren combined with that industrial, titanic synth that rips through just before the beat drops is my ultimate definition of a Corker Dance Floor Moment. Powerful stuff.

#02.

LADY STARLIGHT ‘Operation 2’

With the release of Starlight’s filthy-brilliant EP Operator came ‘Operation 2’, a tough-asnails corker of a techno choon with enough subtle layers to make even the most hardcore of techno purists happier than a lil’ piggy in poo. In a recent interview with DJ Times, Starlight openly discussed why it was she was playing a near-

minimal, banging techno set as opposed to the type of “current” dance music trends most DJs who’d support an act like Lady Gaga would play.

“All the overblown nonsense going on in dance music made me want to vomit,” says Starlight.

“Sonically, everything and the kitchen sink is thrown in.

Early techno was rebel music, the ethos was like punk: just do it with what you have and put it out yourself. Listening to Underground Resistance/Jeff Mills, Joey Beltram, early Adam Beyer, Surgeon, Richie Hawtin, their tracks were banging and maybe have a total of nine sounds in the entire track. All these bells and whistles you hear now are just camouf lage. The artist doesn’t know how to make it move without some absurd white noise sweep to tell people, “Okay, it’s getting exciting now.”

#03.

HENRY SAIZ X BANANARAMA X ACE OF BASE

‘Cruel Summer (Henry Saiz Remix)’ Spain’s Henry Saiz has fast become my favourite dance producer of recent years. His 2014 two-disc album release, Reality Addendum, was by far the very best dance record of the year, and the wonderfully crafted ‘Walking on a Wire’ from 2013 still remains one of

my most played tracks to date; a classic venture into progressive house with the greatest dance crescendo I’ve heard since the late ’90s. But this particular entry cannot be found on any officially sanctioned release, rather located on Saiz’s official SoundCloud page as a mash-up.

Taking the vocals of Ace of Base’s cover of the Bananarama classic ‘Cruel Summer’, Henry brings the vocal tempo right down on this meticulously crafted bootleg, which delivers Saiz’s signature bassline and beat-drop to exhilarating results.

There is this slightly off-kilter vocal moment that, for a brief few seconds, doesn’t match up with the music. But the reward that follows explains and makes up for it; the way the line “Things I can’t understand, it’s too close for comfort this heat has got right out of hand” slips itself in to not only match with the music, but to do so with an effortless f lair. MAGIC! This has all the makings of becoming one of the biggest tracks this summer.

#04.

CARIBOU ‘Your Love Will Set You Free (c2 Remix)’

Caribou’s ace LP release, Our Love, was a breath of fresh air in 2014, but nowhere near as much as the c2 Remix of his future classic ‘Your Love Will Set You Free’. At the two minute mark you know you’re in for a real wonderful, musical trip. Thirty seconds later, you’re taken to dance-magic-heaven. Things head for the bizarre and strange around the four minute mark, all before slamming back into that line of synths.

#05.

NICKY NIGHT TIME ‘Everybody Together)’

Nicky Night Time’s ‘Everybody Together’ effortlessly demonstrated a clear knowledge and truer love of the music from pop culture’s greatest era, the 1990s. Nicky – who you may remember from legendary Aussie trio Van She – concocted one of the most infectious, summerinfused jams of the year, boasting a truly euphoric piano riff that has the potential to make even the crankiest of music lover’s a fan. THE best Australian-made Dance Track of 2014, without a doubt.

And the other 5 are:

Mo rush-released six of the 19 tracks expected from her March 2015 release Rebel Heart. Don’t worry; I’ll be talking about this in greater detail next issue!

MADONNA’S ‘GHOSTTOWN’ Song of the Year 2014, Song of the Year 2015.

MADONNA’S ‘LIVING FOR LOVE’ First single taken from Rebel Heart – with a video due in February.

or

#06. HENRY SAIZ ‘Anubis’ #07. CHOPSTICK & JOHNJON ‘Pining Moon’ #08. OK SURE ‘Bones’ #09. SYSTEM2 ‘Body’ #10. JORIS VOORN ‘Ringo’ What a bunch of absolute corkers!

“She has NO ill will towards Gaga. It’s nonsense, she was listening to the Tony Bennett duet album last week and appreciating it.”

Madonna’s manager @GuyOseary addresses the never-ending Madonna vs Gaga saga. Progress?

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MADONNA’S REBEL HEART

THE MADONNA vs GAGA SAGA I urge both fan bases to lighten up and stop looking for shade where it clearly doesn’t reside.

SIA Song of 2014? There were about 200 better songs from 2014 than ‘Chandelier’. I just don’t get it.

RONSON & MARS ‘Uptown Funk’ is a great song, but let’s settle down with the hysteria folks; it’s no ‘Bad Romance’.

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L I V E N AT I O N P R E S E N T S BY A R R A N G E M E N T W I T H A RT I ST VO I C E

SUMMER TOUR 2015 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

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presented by

Photos by Marianne Valitut ti

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EDGE

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presented by

Photos by Marianne Valitut ti

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Film Reviews

Into the Woods There are a lot of reasons why stage musicals don’t translate well to the big screen, and Into the Woods features more than its fair share of them. When it was announced that Disney would be adapting the classic Stephen Sondheim musical, alarm bells rang: while its fairy tale subject matter was prime Disney fodder, Sondheim’s spin on it – using classic tales such as Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Jack the Giant Killer to explore growing up and more

Films reviewed by Anthony Morris

adult material such as sexuality and relationships – seemed like exactly the kind of thing that Disney would dumb down. And so they have, though not in the blunt fashion some were worried about: while the more salacious songs and plot threads remain – the Big Bad Wolf ( Johnny Depp) does make advances towards Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), while “Any Moment” (which was rumoured to have been cut) is still present – the film works hard to downplay any sexual elements. They’re still there if you look, but kids will

most likely miss them, and with them downplayed a big reason why this story works is gone.

Somewhat surprisingly considering his work directing the acclaimed film version of Chicago, director Rob Marshall has opted for a largely realistic setting here, perhaps feeling that the fairytale plots required a more downto-earth setting to keep the emotional underpinnings grounded. The result is that much of the story involves the cast wandering around a very stagy-looking forest, which tends to drain any visual interest from proceedings, while the overlong final act (in which the fairy tales grow up and “happily ever after” is revealed to be something of a sham) is just people in a ruined forest swaying from side to side as a largely unseen giant stomps about.

It’s not hard to see why this more realistic take on fairy tales should be given a more realistic treatment on screen, but when coupled with the downplaying of the more adult themes what’s left is something markedly less than spectacular. Meryl Streep is the stand-out star, largely due to a role (as the Wicked Witch) that’s outside of the emotional dramas and so can be played to the hilt. Otherwise the performances are all solid (especially Emily Blunt and James Corden), but rarely lift the film; only Chris Pine’s (again, hammy) Prince Charming makes a real mark in one of the few really comedic songs.

It ends up feeling oddly inessential, a decently made film that doesn’t ever feel like it needs to exist – or that audiences need to see it. set during the investigation into a break-in at his home in 1952 that would eventually lead to the exposure of his homosexuality, much of the film

The Imitation Game It’s hardly surprising there’s been a flurry of interest in British codebreaker Alan Turing over the last decade or so: while his work laying the foundation for the exploration of artificial intelligence has been public knowledge since the ’50s (he invented the Turing Test for establishing whether a machine could pass as human), it hasn’t been until recently that the extent of his involvement in cracking the Nazi Enigma codes in World War

Penguins of Madagascar The Madagascar films might not have been the most slickly animated of kids films – the blocky character design had its charms, but also felt like an attempt to hide the fact that the animation itself wasn’t so polished – but they’ve had one advantage over a lot of their rivals: they’ve been actually funny. And often the funniest part of the series has been the wise-cracking squad of nakedly criminal penguins led by Skipper (Tom McGrath) putting together the various gizmos and contraptions that have propelled the plot forward. And if they’re the funny ones who are making

2 has come to light. His personal life, too, has become increasingly of interest: as a homosexual at a time when it was a criminal act, his death by suicide after choosing chemical castration over a prison sentence is an obvious injustice. So it’s a shame that this earnest biopic largely wastes this promising material and an excellent cast in a bland middlebrow effort that fudges facts while failing to provide any real insights.

Focusing largely on his efforts during World War 2 with a framing device

involves Turing’s struggling to figure out how human beings work while effortlessly solving maths problems from all directions. His relationship with female codebreaker Joan Clark (Keira Knightley) provides some charm, and Charles Dance gets some laughs as the grumpy CO who eventually grows sick of Turing’s attempts to build a computing machine, but to a large extent this feels like it was written by people as disinterested in human nature as this version of Turing.

Breakthroughs are delivered via insights down the pub, the world of espionage is sinister yet comforting (Mark Strong’s spymaster seems to be the only person who sees Turing’s real value) and while Turing is at least up front about his sexuality – he knows what he likes and has no trouble with it – we never actually see him in any kind of sexual relationship.

It’s a blandly satisfying film that remains watchable (thanks largely to the cast) even as it spins its wheels: those interested in the real Turing should continue their studies elsewhere.

the story work, what’s the point of everyone else? Good question: judging

by Penguins of Madagascar, the answer is “not much”.

After an opening that gives us the origin of the penguins (plus a cameo appearance from Werner Hertzog, which is probably a shoo-in for best injoke of the year), we see the present-day penguins so annoyed by the constant partying in their new circus home (as seen in the most recent Madagascar movie) they literally shoot out of there to go attempt to break into Fort Knox (it’s not what you think). There their crime spree is thwarted by an encounter with Dave (John Malkovich), an evil

octopus disguised as a only slightly less evil human, and the penguins are then promptly recruited by an international animal-run spy organisation (led by a Benedict Cumberbatch-voiced wolf ) in an attempt to prevent Dave from carrying out an worldwide evil scheme that seems to involve kidnapping a whole lot of other penguins.

It’s fast-paced, extremely silly stuff that piles on the jokes at a rapid rate, and though it’s not as meta as, say, The Lego Movie, it’s still very funny and smarter than you might expect. If you’re looking after kids these holidays, this is a no-brainer; if you’re not, it’s still worth sneaking in and checking out.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Okay, so remember that cliffhanger ending of the last Hobbit? Where Smaug took off to attack Laketown and everyone in the cinema groaned because even if you didn’t know the book it was obvious that a) Smaug attacking Lake-town was going to be a big action spectacle, and b) that all that foreshadowing with Bard (Luke Evans) and the “black arrow” meant that Smaug wasn’t going to be sticking around for the end credits of episode three.

Once that big flaming spectacle is out of the way the dwarves reclaim their stronghold inside the Lonely Mountain, everyone else realises Smaug has left behind a massive treasure, five armies turn up to fight over it and… that’s it. Well, there’s also a bit of backstory behind the various armies: the humans are the survivors wanting what the new dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) promised them, the elves led by Thranduil (Lee Pace) want the same, the dwarf army led by Dain Ironfoot (Billy Connolly) arrives to back up Thorin, and the two Orc armies (thus bringing the total to the required five) are there to kill everyone else because they’re Orcs.

The only real story going on here is Thorin developing “dragon sickness” as he becomes obsessed with his new-found wealth to such an extent that he breaks his word and suspects everyone of betraying him.

And even “greed is bad” is a masterpiece of insight into the human condition compared to the love between dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner) and elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), which involves handing a stone back and forth while third wheel Legolas (Orlando Bloom, undergoing some savage digital smoothing) looks on with a vaguely miffed expression.

What’s really depressing about all this drawn-out bombast is that clearly no-one involved felt much pressure to make this into an entertaining film in its own right: instead the focus is firmly on creating “an epic conclusion” that, while dull for long stretches and never remotely interesting from a story standpoint, does feature a lot of big sequences that seem “big”.

At least, they do until you ask yourself why you’re supposed to care about any of it, but having already seen the first two films (and the Lord of the Rings before that), it’s not like you weren’t already going to see this no matter how shoddy the end result.

Ernest & Celestine Jan 10, 4:30 pm / Jan 11, 12:15 pm / Jan 14, 6:15 pm

In the city of San Fransokyo – think Tokyo mixed with San Francisco – Hiro (Ryan Potter) uses his robot-making skills to win bets and annoy street thugs. His brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) thinks he could have a bright future studying alongside him, but it’s not until a tragedy shakes up Hiro’s life that he finally leaps into action. Well, maybe not leaps: the action initially involves dealing with his brother’s inflatable healthcare robot Baymax (Scott Adsit), who is more about keeping Hiro healthy than hitting the streets fighting crime.

Yet this turns out to be a superhero movie, as Hiro teams up with a bunch of his brother’s fellow science students and, using their individual experiments as a starting point, helps them create their own super-powered abilities.

Which is kind of a shame really, because once this becomes a super-hero movie it loses a little of the charm and strangeness it had when it was just Hiro and Baymax exploring the city.

It’s still a fun ride and the superhero stuff is definitely worthwhile – though it is also a Disney film so the superhero stuff is firmly within the parameters set by their Marvel output (Big Hero 6 started out as a Marvel comic and it’s the first concept to move from marvel to Disney). But once Baymax puts on his armoured shell he loses a lot of his appeal: it’s as a weirdly flexible and peaceful robot buddy that he – and this film – really shines.

Mr Turner Perhaps the greatest British painter of all time and a profound influence on the Impressionists, J.M.W. Turner (Timothy Spall) treated his housekeeper as a disposable sex toy, had a family he kept secret, struck up a relationship with a seaside landlady that he also kept secret, and refused to sell his painting collection for a fortune, instead declaring he would donate them to a nation that increasingly mocked him and his work.

Director Mike Leigh builds up his portrait of Turner with a series of short scenes (comparisons to brush-strokes would not be out of order), showing him alternative as a loving son, gruff companion, careless lover and devoted friend.

Spall’s performance is utterly compelling: Turner increasingly communicates in grunts, and increasingly uses those grunts to express his displeasure, yet his essential humanity – his frustrations and annoyances – is never obscured.

Leigh sets his film in many of the landscapes Turner painted, showing us his inspiration while giving Turner’s murky, swirling works a grounding many even in his day did not grasp. It’s a rare biopic that leaves you feeling like you’ve gone beneath the surface of the subject: much like Turner’s paintings themselves, this captures mood as well as detail for those with eyes to see.

Folies Bergere Jan 10, 9:15 pm / Jan 11, 6:30 pm / Jan 13, 7:15 pm

Tickets: $10 concession $12 adult

Jimmy’s Hall Jan 8, 7:00 pm

Licensed Candy Bar

Living Is Easy (With Eyes Closed) Jan 8, 9:00 pm / Jan 11, 4:15 pm / Jan 12, 8:00 pm The Mule Jan 6, 7:00 pm / Jan 9, 7:0 0pm / Jan 10, 2:15 pm / Jan 13, 9:15 pm NIGHTCRAWLER Jan 5, 7:30 pm / Jan 11, 8:30 pm / Jan 14, 8:00 pm Two Days One Night Jan 6 @ 9:15 pm Whiplash Jan 7, 7:00 pm / Jan 9, 9:15 pm / Jan 10, 12:00 pm / Jan 11, 2:00pm

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Big Hero 6

More movie times and info available online pivotcinema.com.au The Ukranian Community Hall, 57 Pakington St, Geelong West

the wrap Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb The third of the Night at the Museum films is less of a mess than the second, with the action shifting to the British Museum as Ben Stiller and company try to find a way to repair the magic tablet keeping the exhibits alive. Like the previous two instalments it’s not all that funny or all that exciting, but the living exhibits and artworks are interesting – and a Hugh Jackman cameo (as himself ) is a lot of fun.

Paddington The much-loved children’s tale gets an upgrade here, and while the bear’s CGI can be a little iffy and the subplot about an evil taxidermist (Nicole Kidman) is a bit generic, there are enough laughs and charm here to make this a winning experience.

St Vincent What initially seems like a return to caustic form for Bill Murray ends up taking a sadly predictable turn for the sappy as the cutesy small child his drunken gambler is babysitting slowly brings out the goodness (ugh) in his soul.

The Water Diviner Russell Crowe directs and stars in this telemovie-level look at a father’s determination to retrieve his dead sons from the beaches of Gallipoli. The plot twists are predictable, though the film’s focus on Turkey and its post WWI upheaval isn’t.

Horrible Bosses 2 More of the same quasicriminal antics, only now with even more rapid-fire banter, which is either kind of funny or increasingly painful depending on your mood. Chris Pine is pretty funny as a major sleaze though.

Exodus: Gods and Kings Director Ridley Scott’s biblical epic suffers from an inability to decide whether it wants to be about big archetypical events or a tale told at a human level.

Christian Bale’s Moses makes little impact; Joel Edgerton’s Ramses is a forgettable notquite bad guy. The plagues and parting of the Red Sea are impressive enough, but are given a possible scientific explanation (as are Moses’ visions), which somehow make them less awe-inspiring. This is a story that’s lasted thousands of years; this will leave you wondering how

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day A kid’s family goes through a lot of bad stuff in one terrible day. It’s short, it’s entertaining, it’s a decent alternative to actually spending time with your kids during the holidays.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt 1 As you might expect from a movie made out of the front half of a novel, this is a bit short on action, but Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in the lead role remains strong and there are some interesting ideas here even without the action to back them up.

Music Reviews

Matt Andersen

listener toward the light – in both senses – of acceptance, hope and refuge.

Alongside blues-based tracks, Andersen handles soul, Southern rock and country tunes with a natural touch. Vocally, he’s reminiscent of Joe Cocker or Doug Parkinson – that’s an Englishman and an Aussie. While the musical tone is distinctly ‘Northern Hemisphere’, the themes and

blending of roots traditions make for an album identifiable in any corner of the globe.

Weightless was produced

by Steve Berlin with guests including Calgary guitarist Paul Rigby (Neko Case) and co-writing friends Joel Plaskett and Dave Gunning.

Complementing Andersen’s own fine guitar work are piano, horns, harmonica and pedal steel. Backing vocals and a tight rhythm section provide a fulsome base uniting the genres explored. The fading fortunes of Detroit inspired ‘City Of Dreams’, which builds to an rousing, obvious live winner. From the title track with its empowering breakout cry (‘Wings don’t fail me now…’) to the gentle advice of ‘So Easy’, it’s an album that’s easy to feel at home with.

By Chris Lambie

are so many layers of instruments that it’s hard to pick the standouts, though at the peak the drums help create an intensity to the song. Then there’s the guitar riff at the start: simply no words for that one.

The original track comes in at over nine minutes, but this five minute version is just as mind-blowing.

While ‘Hindsight’ might be the hit single

from the release, there’s still reason to love the three tracks that follow. ‘Streets’ gives off the sun-kissed beach vibe whilst maintaining their genre’s style. There’s a bit of irony in ‘Wonderland’ as they sing about how everything is converting to the digital world, ironic as their debut is only available as a physical copy.

Listening to Hindsight, it’s easy to forget that the EP is actually a debut release for the band. The quality is at an insanely high level, and has the perfect mix of complex riffs and atmospheric vocals.

Though don’t be fooled as The Occupants have actually been formed from former COG members, a sign that there’s great things to come from the four-piece.

By Amanda Sherring

WEIGHTLESS True North Records

This is album number eight for Canadian Matt Andersen, although touted as a debut of sorts. Best known as a blues artist, he’s an established independent multi awardwinner. Here he expands on the music he makes. Perhaps newly adopted support of a renowned record company, co-songwriters and an expansion of influences inspired the album title Weightless – or an ironic reference to Andersen’s imposing physical presence – a cross between hairy Viking biker and mountain-bred hippie. The songs speak from viewpoints of the uncertain and world-weary, leading the

The Occupants HINDSIGHT EP Pavement Records

Remember the ‘90s? And the awesome prog-rock sounds that were blasted from the radio, cementing our childhood memories around the genre? Well I certainly do, and The Occupants have created a major case of déjà vu to those double-denim clad years.

‘Hindsight’ is one of those songs where as soon as you hear it, everything else you were doing at that point becomes irrelevant. It’s slow building, and utterly mesmerising once it reaches the climax – both signs of a good and true to form progressive rock tune. There

The Mean Times You’ve Got the Wrong Guys You’ve Got the Wrong Guys is the latest release from Melbourne four-piece The Mean Times. Described as real blokes who play real music for real people, this release is a sweaty electro-pop dance release. Cue indie haircuts and stovepipe jeans, these guys are

sure to get you on the dance floor and grooving away to their tunes.

‘Coming Up Below’ is a cross between post-grunge and power-pop and is a sound that really drives this mini album.

With each of the songs clocking in at around three-and-a-half minutes, you will be certain to hear these guys blasting out of your radio very soon. Influenced by the likes of Regurgitator, Pavement, The Violent Femmes and the Rolling Stones, it is groovy and catchy indie sounds that would complement the best music festivals around.

With a mix of band members from Victoria and Tasmania, you are sure to

see these boys somewhere out on the road touring this release. If grungy rock guitar and easy-to-sing pop melodies is your thing, then these guys are definitely worth checking out. My favourite track on the release would have to be ‘Business Casual Guy’ and that’s partially because of the electro drums and reverby guitar melody. It to a point sounds a bit like a song off a Spoon album.

If you are looking for some new rock tunes, go no further than your trusty live and local band The Mean Times. It’ll be hard to get their songs out of your head, that’s for sure. By Tex Miller

Hiatus Kaiyote

BY FIRE Sony Music

After receiving praise from the likes of Prince, Pharrell Williams and Flying Lotus, there isn’t really a point in questioning whether the band’s new EP, By Fire, will be any good. As the answer is a sure-fire yes.

Title track ‘By Fire’ has already received a bit of

Citizen Kay Demokracy Asphalt Records

Citizen Kay has released his latest EP Demokracy and it’s a cracker. Opening with ‘Yes’, the horn section and break beat combined with the carefree rap styles of Mr. Kay, demand for a position in your Hottest 100 short

airplay on triple j, and with it’s slightly manic, unnerving undertones at the start of the track it warms up as soon as Nai Palm’s vocals come in. There is so much power and sass behind her vocals that there isn’t really much else needed in the track aside from a simple steady beat, which is more than delivered in the track.

Short and sweet, ‘Laputa’ clocks in at just over two minutes. Again with Nai Palm’s vocals at the forefront, her voice takes on the quality of something you’d hear from singers

in the ‘30s or ‘40s, something that’s hard to come by nowadays. The song’s a quirky number, a bit like something you’d hear from Bjork or Fiona Apple.

‘Molasses’, much like the substance, is sugary sweet and Nai Palm’s vocals flow through the song like syrup.

It’s one of those tunes where you can’t help but bop your head to.

For a three-track EP it leaves you wanting more of the Hiatus Kaiyote’s soothing tunes, but maybe that was the plan all along?

By Amanda Sherring

list. From Canberra, the majority of the songs on this disc have been receiving extensive airplay on triple j.

The moment I got this disc and heard the beat and melody, it was cranked in my car. I think it’s one of those things that you just can’t deny. A groovy little number.

Track #2 is the ever-energetic ‘Raise A Glass’, featuring the talents of the Brass Knuckle Brass Band. The horn section is on fire in this track and I think that is what makes the song

so catchy. Simple chorus and a very danceable melody, if you haven’t heard this track, get on it. There’s nothing more to say then, it’s a upbeat tune that will definitely compliment any travelling that you are doing over summer.

If you’re after someone who makes home-grown hip-hop, then look no further than Citizen Kay. A definite star on the rise, it will be interesting to see where his career develops to next. By Tex Miller forte 61

Last Words

grog watch Written by Tony Montana

Holidays: what’s the bloody point?

Sure, when you’re looking forward to them they’re the most exciting thing in the world, an endless round of good times as you cast off the shackles of your daily life and finally get the chance to become your real self. But after a few days you realise that your real self is a lazy bastard that you’re kind of disgusted by, and that the real reason you spend so much time slaving away at work or at study isn’t because you have to but to avoid spending serious quality alone time with yourself. But too late! You’re stuck on a break and you’ve got to go through with it until the bitter end. So while you’re sitting around at home doing bugger-all, instead of constantly telling yourself you’re going to do something useful and creative with all your spare time, why not just give up

and do some or all of the following from the second part of the ultra-classy cutout-and-keep TONY MONTANA’S GUIDE TO GUARANTEED HOLIDAY FUN (title does not constitute a guarantee).

ORGAN TRANSPLANTS – AT LAST, A REASON TO VISIT EVEN YOUR MOST MORONIC RELATIVES. These days they can transplant just about anything, and chances are once you’re over the age of eighteen you’ll have probably worn out something vital – exactly the kind of vital something one of your fat, lazy relatives is bound to be sitting around on doing nothing with. And if they’re really as stupid as you’ve been telling everyone behind their back, you’ll be able to persuade them that they can survive without a heart real easy. Just buy a few bags of ice and they’ll probably let you take it with you when you go.

IF HOLIDAYS ARE SUCH A MAGICAL TIME FOR CHILDREN, THEN WHY THE

HELL DON’T THEY JUST VANISH? Hey kids, remember how you spend most of your school year thinking, “I’m never going to use any of this crap they’re teaching me”? Well, guess what – not only are you 100 per cent correct, but your parents (aka the people who’re forcing you to go to school) know it’s true as well. After all, they thought exactly the same thing when they were at school.

They don’t send you to school to learn. They send you there to get rid of you ... which makes holidays a lot like the part in your average horror story when the guy in the cabin in the middle of the woods hears a knocking on the door at midnight and just knows it’s the body of the wife he murdered and threw in the lake coming back for revenge. And how does he deal with the hideous undead corpse? HE KILLS IT AGAIN. Usually by belting it in the face with a shovel.

So you really don’t want to annoy your Uncle Tony by running around yelling stuff and asking questions and having

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fun and trying to talk to him when he’s watching Hannibal, okay?

THIS YEAR’S PRIME CAMP SITE: THE GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS. Memo to campers: you may not have noticed this, what with rushing to buy the latest flavour of freeze-dried prunes, but WE’VE INVENTED CITIES. And in fact, they’re kinda cool. They have TV and places that sell alcohol, whereas the bush has, well, these days it’s mostly dust. And as for that “back to nature” waffle, do you go to your hairdresser or barber and say, “Forget about the high-tech scissors, just cut my hair with a sharpened rock, okay?” You wanna go camping, go to Mardi Gras.

At least the excitement there doesn’t involve picking bugs out of your food after they’ve just had sex on it.

So we’re all agreed then? Doing stuff sucks. And yet, we’re still faced with the aforementioned problem: if you do nothing, you’ll be forced to face yourself. And in trying to avoid

that – because seriously, there’s only so much introspection any of us can stand and once you’re in a relationship you’ve already got someone else to point out your flaws – there’s a good chance you’ll end up doing something even worse (did I mention pulling weeds?).

Basically, you want to be out of the house – damn, there goes the internet – but not doing anything actually physical.

You want to be entertained, but not have to pay any money for it. I’ve got just two words for you: NEWSAGENT BROWSING … which is just a fancy way of saying you should go stand around reading all the magazines in the place until they throw you out for not buying anything. Not that they’ll dare show you the door if you plan it right: first, come up with a roster – different sections in different newsagents each day, occasionally buying the cheapest possible item (usually a paper) after half an hour so they learn not to throw you out ’cause you might buy something.

Sure, some’ll tell you it’s a scummy

way to pass the time, but these days newsagents should be glad of the custom and, like I always say, if they didn’t want you to read the magazines they wouldn’t put pages inside the covers.

And supermarkets are even better – checkout chicks NEVER tell you off.

Seriously, this is a golden age of glossy pop culture mags running six-page articles on obscure comic book artists and Japanese battlesuit model kits: take advantage now before everything goes online and the only magazines left are full of knitting patterns and pictures of North West.

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