Forte #613

ISSUE #613 ball ar at | bell arine | Bendigo | ca stlemaine | geelong | surf coa st | warrnambool |

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Marina Prior pg.21

“ ...it’s fun to do unexpected things like Celtic folk music, a bit of pop and opera. I love the freedom of this show!”

king gizzard & the lizard wizard pg.31

dave hughes

pg.42

nina las vegas

pg.44

Damien Leith

pg.47

dr. colossus

pg.47

ALSO FEATURING: Oh Mercy, The Cherry Dolls, Sean Patrick, Cosmic Psychos, Kitty Flanagan and heaps more!

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

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

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ed's note There’s no denying that Courtney Barnett is taking the world by storm, after all, once you’ve gained a massive following in America you’ve pretty much made it. That’s why I was a little bit apprehensive about seeing her play at the Forum; can a singer with so much hype possibly live up to it? Put simply she surprised me, but you can read all about that in my review on page 53.

This issue is a bit of a mixed bag, and features a lengthy list of artists who have just gone through their “hype” period or are still in the midst of it. Regardless of what stage they’re

forte issue #613 thursday 28 MAY 2015

at, they’re all achieving remarkable things, and that’s why they’re featured in these 56 pages. The issue is so mixed that we’ve even thrown in a Simpsons quiz for good measure (see page 54).

Our senior writer Natalie Rogers had a chat with soprano singer, actress and our cover star Marina Prior which you can read about on page 21. Forte also had a chat with local up-and-comer Sean Patrick (page 27), the ever-present Nina Las Vegas (page 44) and Damien Leith (page 47).

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Beyond that our regular columnists have dished up some pretty interesting content for you, with our travel writer Katherine writing about naked sunbaking in Berlin, our fashion writer Jessica giving tips on fighting it out at a warehouse sale and Tony Montana giving some relationship advice – no, seriously.

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Let’s hope you’re feeling inspired by the end of this because I feel like I could fight it out for a stylish jacket, strip down when the sun comes out or maybe even start a band? Who knows.

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Win a double pass to see Aussie legend Kevin Bloody Wilson play at The Sphinx in North Geelong (June 30)!!

To enter email your name, number and code word ‘KEVIN’ to amanda@fortemag.com.au.

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Anthony Morris, Adem Ali, Alastair McGibbon, Amanda Sherring, Andrew Pretorius, Cameron Brogden, Chris Cruz, Chris Lambie, Daniel Lock, Emily Hurst, Jessica Alves, Dr John Lamp, Kara Ready, Montana Agustin, Natalie Rogers, Paul S Taylor, Tex Miller, Wylie Caird, Xavier Fenell, Tony Montana printed by

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flavour in the list with Iggy Azalea making the nomination list for Best Female Hip Hop artist.

The award ceremony will premiere live on June 29.

No Bad Blood for Taylor Swift

Rubens Get the Midus Touch It seems everything the Rubens touch turns to gold, and their new single ‘Hallelujah’ is no exception. The footstomping, drum-beat-blasting track is the first single off the band’s sophomore album Hoops out August 7.

Lead vocalist Sam Margin explains: “[Hallelujah] started out with programming a beat, putting it on loop and riffing on it until something decent came out of it. The song itself is about people trying to force their religious beliefs or ideas upon you, and in the process destroying what it is they’re plugging.”

Entourage of Eight We all wish we could have a posse like the boys in Entourage, or more so, the ability to partake in high-stake antics. But alas, we all can’t be as lucky so we’ll have to live through the film until we get swept up in a friend group featuring Hollywood’s brightest. The film will soon hit cinemas, but until then you can watch one of the eight trailers.

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I Love Life (and the Smith Street Band) While we mightn’t love them quite as much for taking the I Love Life mini-festival to Sydney and Brisbane – not Melbourne – we still have to give the Melbourne four-piece some props for bringing some positivity back into the festival scene. The mini-festival will feature The Smith Street Band

as headliners and sets from Iron Chic, Modern Baseball, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Self Defense Family, The Sidekicks, Oslow, Hannahband (Sydney only) and Walken (Brisbane only).

The festivals are set for Sydney on September 12 and Brisbane on September 13.

BET Award A-List The Billboard awards

just swept by – as did Taylor Swift with her eight awards – but now it’s MTV’s BET Awards time to take centre stage. MTV have just announced the nominations and Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj take the lead with six nominations each, followed with Beyonce and Lil Wayne with four each. Though there’s a little bit of Aussie

With cameos from Hayley Williams, Lena Dunham, Cara Delevingne and Kendrick Lamar, the ‘Bad Blood’ clip was bound to be a success no matter how poor the track was.

But in a great moment for Taylor, it was all a success and the clip has since been plastered in viral proportions on social media. Featuring an action thriller plot, it’s created a point of difference in the music video production world: you win this round T-Swift.

A Loss for the Simpsons Remember that time when Ned Flanders was wearing nothing at all?

Nothing at all? And that voice just echoed in your mind forever? Well, that was all thanks to Harry Shearer, who is also responsible for voicing Mr.Burns, Waylon Smithers, Dr.Hibbert, Lenny, Kent Brockman, Reverend Lovejoy, Otto, Renier Wolfcastle, Scratchy, Kang and others. With Fox

resigning the popular TV show for a 28th season it has been without Harry Shearer, who is set to pursue other interests.

The 28th season looks to be an interesting one...

Lamb, Lamb, Lamb Since news broke that Lamb of God signed with Nuclear Blast a new single was quick to follow with a new single titled ‘Still Echoes’. As frontman Randy Blythe told The Rolling Stone, the single is one of their heavier tracks and tells the history of Prague’s Pankrác Prison. Blythe himself was placed in the 19th century prison when he faced charges of manslaughter from Czech authorities who claimed a fan died after Blythe pushed them offstage.

Asta Can Go All Day Asta gave us a little taster of what to expect from her upcoming tour as she took to triple j’s Like a Version with Allday in tow. The duo performed the new sound track ‘Dynamite’ and a classic Whitney Houston cover of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’. Both were done to rave reviews and if you haven’t got your tickets for the Melbourne show at 170 Russell on June 7, I’d get onto it!

Mad for Max It seems everyone can’t stop talking about the new Mad Max: Fury Road movie, whether it’s about Charlize Theron’s short hair and lack of an arm, the (ridiculous) claim by men’s rights group of being tricked into seeing feminist propaganda or whether there’ll be a follow up to the film that racked up over $100million in its first few days.

Answer is yes, there will be another, as director George Miller has confirmed over Twitter: “Thanks for all the kind words written and said about the film. We had a lot of fun making it..and there’s more Max to come.” So buckle up kids, this ones going to be a bumpy ride.

Mansionair Join the Family Indie-electronic duo Mansionair have just signed on with Liberation Music and Mushroom Music Publishing and all involved couldn’t be more elated at their new little family. The duo have been receiving heaps of praise since forming in January last year and

they’ve easily become the next ones to watch. “I’ve personally been excited

by Mansionair since the first time I heard them and after just seeing them support ALT-J I’m very excited about their future and welcome them to the Liberation label and Mushroom Music Publishing,” Michael Gudinski says of the news.

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No Lonely Film They’ve caused some serious laughs over the years, but things have been a bit quiet in the Lonely Island world.

It’s understandable though given their solo careers.

Production has officially begun on the Top Secret Untitled Lonely Island Movie, and with whispers it’s set to poke fun at other music documentary releases, it’s set to cause many a giggles.

The Taylor Swift Awards The Billboard music awards have been and gone and it wasn’t without drama. Kanye West’s performance of ‘All Day’ and ‘Black Skinheard’ were considerably censored, then he was booed for part of his performance.

Taylor Swift was undeniably the best to come away from the awards, winning eight of the 14 categories she was nominated in, including best female artist and artist of the year.

Iggy Azalea took away top ran song for ‘Fancy’ and the One Direction boys won best group and best touring artist.

A Helping Hand Get Some Soul In You Now in their second year, Soulfest have come back with a killer line up set to get your soul on fire. With the likes of Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott and Jhene Aiko taking the charge, the festival also features; Lauryn Hill, Miguel, BlackStar, Charlie Wilson, Talib Kweli, De La Soul (pictured), Dwele, Eric Benet, Floetry, Daniel Merriweather, Remi, BJ Chicago Kid, Kamasi Washington, Thandle Pheonix, DJ Trey, Soul of Sydney Djs and Maribelle. General tickets are on sale now.

No Turning Back

Kanye’s New Title

Vance’s Joy

After their previous album, Temper Temper, received mixed reactions from fans, there’s more pressure than ever for Bullet for My Valentine to get it right. Off to a good start, the band have released the dark and powerful number ‘No Way Out’ ahead of their new album Venom coming out August 14.

Maybe gaining a doctorate has changed Kanye West’s view of the world, but nonetheless, his highly awaited album previously titled So Help Me God will now be known as SWISH. Whether this one sticks is anyone’s guess, but for now lets hope his indecisiveness doesn’t spread to other aspects of his life...

We are one but we are many... Doing Australia proud is Vance Joy who just beat out lady Gaga for the longest lasting song in the ARIA top 100 singles chart. ‘Riptide’ was the track that gained him international attention and clearly still is as after 108 weeks it still sits firmly in the list after peaking at #6 on February 3, 2014.

The news of the first earthquake in Nepal was heartbreaking enough, let alone the ones that followed on the already devastated towns affected. Wanting to give a little bit back, the Shadow Electric are throwing a Help Nepal Fundraiser with 100 per cent of door proceeds going towards the appeal.

Donating their time will be GL, Oscar Key Sung (DJ set), Edd Fisher & Simon TK, King Puppy & The Carnivore & Moksha. The fundraiser will run on May 31 from 6pm, tickets cost $15.

Farewell to a Legend In sadder news for In the Know blues icon and guitar legend B.B. King has passed away at 89 years old. To celebrate what he achieved – which was a lot – the musician was credited for opening the blues genre worldwide and influencing many, many musicians over the years. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so thanks for everything B.B. King, whenever we see a Gibson guitar we’ll think of you.

The One, The Only Parden the pun, but with Tyler the Creators Cherry Bomb tour, he’ll be bringing his explosive lyricism, raw emotion and devilish chatter. His fourth album Cherry Bomb has seen him collaborate with the likes of Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Pharrell Williams, the hard hitters of the hip hop and rapping world. Tyler will hit Melbourne on September 6 at the Forum Theatre.

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T H E THURSDAY 28TH MAY BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia Night from 7:30pm BEAVS BAR: Levi Anderson 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 HOTEL: Eureka Thursdays with local DJs GPAC: Storm Boy, Globe to Globe: Hamlet LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard MARTIANS CAFE: $25 International Night including drink PISTOL PETES: Marissa Quigley THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 ST JAMES: Live DJs SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC (Ballarat): The Slurrymen, Hilly

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SATURDAY 30TH MAY BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Jessey Jackson BARWON CLUB: Divine Ascension, Damnations Day, Vendetta, Stormtide BEAVS BAR: Jack Harman BELMONT HOTEL: Matty Orchard BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live Music and Happy Hour 5-7pm BLACK HATT: Elasticalpaca, Tom Stevenson band, Chuck and Dec McKinnon & the Knockabouts THE BLUES TRAM (Bendigo): Marisa Quigley Duo, King Maxwell THE EASTERN: Ben Salter EDGE: Live Music and DJ EUREKA: $5 Night, Live DJS GATEWAY HOTEL: Housos vs Fat Pizza GPAC: Storm Boy; The John Denver Story THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Joss Russell HOMEHOUSE: Apax, Kata, DJ Philly KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): The Cherry Dolls LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE (Warrnambool): Anh Do THE LOFT (Warrnambool): YETI, King Evil MAX HOTEL: Trojan

MILDURA ARTS CENTRE (Mildura): Experience Floyd ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Jimmy Graham OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Michelle Parsons PISTOL PETE’S: Paulie Bignell & the Thornbury Two SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music SPHINX HOTEL: Jon Stevens ST JAMES: Live DJs: House, Hip Hop, RnB SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC (Ballarat): The Ivy Stone Assembly THE WOOL EXCHANGE: British India, Grenadiers, Tired Lion

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WEDNESDAY 3RD JUNE BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Karaoke THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Karaoke BENDED: Second chance & pub quiz CHERRY BAR: Two Headed Dog, Cotangent, Super Saloon, Twisted Pistol ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8pm.

GEELONG (52 Garden St): No Lights No Lycra GEELONG RSL: Pot and Parmi Night $13 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50 GPAC: The Great Australian Songbook MAX HOTEL: Lukey’s Open Mic Night ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Paddle and Platter Night, GOAT BEER WEEK OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Roast night PISTOL PETES: Food and Blues

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& the Drum BEAVS BAR: Levi Anderson; Sean Patrick EP launch with Alister Turrill & Luke Pote 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 HOTEL: Eureka Thursdays with local DJs GPAC: The Great Australian Songbook LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard MARTIANS CAFE: $25 International Night including drink ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Roast night PISTOL PETE’S: LIVE MUSIC THURSDAYS: Hipshooters, Chris WIlson THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 ST JAMES: Live DJs

FRIDAY 5TH JUNE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Happy Hour 5-7pm, Meat Raffle & Members Draw BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan BELMONT HOTEL: Zane Carroll BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Happy Hour 5-7pm BLACK HATT: Public Nuisance CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with live entertainment and DJ COMEDY THEATRE (Melbourne): Lilly Singh’s A Trip to Unicorn Island THE EASTERN: Dave Graney, Pork Chop Party EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday EUREKA HOTEL: Live DJs GEELONG RSL: Grasshopper (free) THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Live Music HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with DJs

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SATURDAY 6TH JUNE BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): YETI Unplugged BARWON CLUB: Merv Mustard BEAVS BAR: Butters BELMONT HOTEL: James Carigg BIRD ROCK CAFE (Jan Juc): Live Music and Happy Hour 5-7pm THE EASTERN: The Peep Tempel, Spacejunk, The Yard Apes EDGE: Live Music and DJ EUREKA: $5 Night, Live DJS THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Live Music KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): HARTS HOMEHOUSE: J-Trick, Steve Camp, Keith Evans, Marcus Pearsons, Sonic Vibes THE LOFT (Warrnambool): AROCKALYPSE: Smokestack Rhino, The infants, HARTS, Jackson Firebird, Palace of the King and more.

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Live Music PISTOL PETE’S: Brian Fraser PORTARLINGTON: NATIONAL CELTIC FESTIVAL SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music ST JAMES: Live DJs: House, Hip Hop, RnB

SUNDAY 7TH JUNE BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): GRIYA BARWON CLUB: Gizzfest: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, The Murlocs, The Kremlings, Naked Bodies and more BENDED: Uno Dance Club: Cut Copy DJ Set, Nina Las Vegas BIRD ROCK CAFÉ (Jan Juc): Steak and Parmi 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 GATEWAY HOTEL: Absolutely ‘80s Queen’s Birthday Eve GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery lunch GROVEDALE: Live Music HOMEHOUSE: Queens B’day Long Weekend: Samual James vs Brendan Walker THE LOFT (Warrnambool): AROCKALYPSE: Smokestack Rhino, The infants, HARTS, Jackson Firebird, Palace of the King and more.

LORD NELSON: Sunday Funday Live Music PORTARLINGTON: NATIONAL CELTIC FESTIVAL SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17 SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC (Ballarat): Harrison Dale TORQUAY BOWLS CLUB: No Exit the Angels Tribute Band YAH YAHS: Don Fernando, Battle Axe Howlers, Dr Colossus, Low Fly incline, Cicadastone

MONDAY 8TH JUNE BARWON CLUB: $10 Parmis BENDED: Steak night CHERRY BAR: Cherry Jam Monday’s ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Members Draw, over $3000 in prizes to be won!

OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Parmi night PORTARLINGTON: NATIONAL CELTIC FESTIVAL THE SPHINX HOTEL: Meals for $11

TUESDAY 9TH JUNE BENDED: Parmi night ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Parmi night

WEDNESDAY 10TH JUNE BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Karaoke THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Karaoke BENDED: Second chance & pub quiz CHERRY BAR: Two Headed Dog, The Black Alleys, Leopard Slugg, Twin Ages CORNER HOTEL: College Humour & MTV’s PRANKED ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8pm. Have fun win prizes book a table GEELONG (52 Garden St): No Lights No Lycra GEELONG RSL: Pot and Parmi Night $13 GOLD DIGGERS ARMS: Spinning Wheel and a lot of Parmi’s from $14.50 KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): Weekend Nachos MAX HOTEL: Lukey’s Open Mic Night ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Paddle and Platter Night OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Roast night PISTOL PETES: Food and Blues

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Marina Prior FEATURE STORY Written by Natalie Rogers

Marina Prior may be described as Australia’s leading lady – a titled she earned early in her career – but she is so much more than that. The popular soprano has a sparkling wit, grace and the ability not to take herself too seriously.

As well as being refreshingly down to earth, she can belt out ‘Danny Boy’ with the best of them – and now it’s your chance to spend an evening getting to know our national treasure at her new show, an intimate concert at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Ballarat.

Fast Five with MARINA PRIOR! Besides your own, whose musical career do you admire most? Nancy Hayes - she’s been a musical theatre legend since the 1950s.

She was a great mentor to me – she played my mother in the musical Showboat.

The Hayes Theatre in Potts

Point, which is a small, intimate venue, is named after her. She’s been working for nearly 50 years - she’ll go from plays, to directing, to doing a musical, to doing television. I admire the longevity and diversity of her career. I know her and I love her.

Favourite holiday destination?

Fiji - I got married in Fiji only a few years ago so I’ve got great memories. It’s the most beautiful part of the world I’ve ever seen.

Favourite snack when working?

Sushi, because it’s light and it’s good for you – I can never eat too much before a performance.

Have you ever broken a bone?

Never, and I’m proud of that!

The last thing you read that inspired you? A fantastic book called Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. It’s a New York Times Best-Seller – I highly recommend it. It’s a historically based story about the court of Henry VIII and it’s just been made into a BBC series. It’s absolutely brilliant!

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“I have a family connection to the area, and I’ve performed there many times – in fact the last time I performed there I got my great aunt up to sing with me,” Prior smiled. “She’s passed away now – she was in her 80s and it was really special.

“A lot of my family are from Ballarat,” she continued, “and Her Majesty’s is such a beautiful theatre – I absolutely love performing there.”

Most people would be aware of Prior’s impressive resume which includes so many of our country’s premier theatre productions, but Prior is planning a more personal set list for this show. “I was brought up singing Irish and Scottish music. I have a very musical family, particularly my aunt and my grandma who were born in Buninyong, which is just out of Ballarat. I really enjoy showing a different side of myself that people may not know about.

“Of course I’ll still sing all the big hits from Les Miserable, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, West Side Story and Sound of Music – they’ll all be included. I think I would probably be shot if I didn’t sing ‘Music of the Night’” she jokes.

“But I really love getting the chance to sing ‘Danny Boy’, an old favourite of mine, and it’s fun to do unexpected things like Celtic folk music, a bit of pop and opera. I love the freedom of this show – I can stop and chat to the audience whenever I want, which is a nice change from doing theatre where you do the same thing eight times a week for months, if not years on end!”

Having spent years treading the boards with some of the theatre world’s finest, Prior has seen her fair share of backstage antics and isn’t afraid to drop a name or two.

“I’ll be telling a lot of stories – lots of things go wrong behind the curtain in theatre. There are always costume mishaps and malfunctions and people coming on at the wrong time!” Prior laughed. “I’ll talk a lot about what’s gone on over the last 30 years and I also like to tell stories about growing up and discovering that I wanted to sing.”

Marina Prior has always been surrounded by music – she started singing lesson at 12 and also learnt to play the piano, flute and guitar. In the early ‘80s she began studying for a Bachelor of Music degree at Melbourne State College (which later became the University of Melbourne). “I would be busking around Melbourne and singing lots of Celtic folk songs.”

Her big break came a couple of years later when she scored the role of ‘Guinevere’ in the Australian production of Camelot, opposite Richard Harris.

From there she went on to appear in Cats, Les Miserable, as the original ‘Christine é’ in the Australian premier of Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, The Secret Garden, and Showboat among others. She’s been a long time favourite at Melbourne’s Carols By Candlelight and even spent a couple of seasons as a judge on Channel Seven’s reality show It Takes Two. Lately though, Prior has been trying her hand at comedy – she just finished a run of shows for the Melbourne Theatre Company with a supporting role in Jumpy. “This play is really very funny. Jane Turner is hilarious in it and I play her best friend who is a bit of a cougar!” she grinned. “It’s the antithesis of the Phantom of the Opera. I play this crazy man-eater who is studying burlesque dancing and she has fantastically funny lines. It’s been very successful and so much fun.

“Now I’ve got this show coming up and it’s very exciting because it’s actually the first venture for my husband’s production company [Castaway Productions].

He’s producing this concert so it’s rather dear to my heart. 2015 is shaping up to be very full.”

Prior believes keeping busy and looking towards the future is the key to a happy and healthy life, though it’s hard to deny her contribution to the arts which was recognised by her induction into Australia’s 100 Entertainers of the Century in 2006 - alumni include Dame Nellie Melba, Graham Kennedy and Dame Edna Everage. “These people are great Australian talents so it’s definitely an honour.

There’s actually a huge mosaic portrait of the 100 performers in Docklands in Melbourne – it’s absolutely huge. I walked past it for the first time only a few months ago and it’s really disturbing because my face is completely cracked - I actually look like I’m about four thousand years old! – it looks like something that belongs in Egypt among the pyramids. It’s really awful!” Come and see the real thing – ‘Live In Ballarat’ at Her Majesty’s Theatre Saturday July 25th.

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When&Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat – July 25 (2pm & 8pm)

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Experience Floyd Written by Abbey King

Known forever as one of the most progressive bands of all time, Pink Floyd brought a whole new element to live music performances, their shows became more of an ‘experience’ as opposed to just another gig. Combining special lighting and effects with their very distinct and unique sound, for many years the Floyd were the hottest ticket in town and fans couldn’t get enough. A group of exceptionally talented South Australian musicians decided to get together and re-create that experience to share with old fans and whole new generations alike.

Experience Floyd are an Adelaide based band who started out doing regular cover shows in various Adelaide venues, however the band grew far too big, as did the audience size, so they decided to take it up a notch and make it professional. I spoke with the bands bassist, Mark Doyle, who was busy preparing for their very first trip to Victoria as a band.

“It will be our first trip there with the current line up. The current line up we have has been solid now for almost two years, we moved a few people around because it just wasn’t working – like all bands until you find the right mix.” he says.

“We bring the full Pink Floyd lighting show, we leave no stone unturned in terms of the authenticity of the music.”

I joke that if he is the bassist in the band does that make him Roger?

He bursts into a fit of laughter, “Well kind of, nobody really looks like anyone from the band, except the lead singer. When we come to Victoria, we will actually be an 11-piece band, that is what it takes for us to reproduce this music live.”

The original Pink Floyd, as many would know, consisted of Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Right. Experience Floyd do not just accurately replicate the sound, but also want to make the performance as visually stimulating as the original Pink Floyd shows.

“We’ve got a lighting production team behind us, who are actually the same company who toured with Floyd when

When&Where: Mildura Arts Centre, Mildure – May 30, The Capital, Bendigo – June 3 & Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat – July 4

they were here many moons ago. So we have a big full light circle, the whole Floyd set up – or as close as we can get to it.”

Experience Floyd have shows coming up in Mildura, Ballarat and Bendigo, with Bendigo being a big show for the band as it is Mark’s hometown.

“This show is a really big deal to me, to come home to play. Believe it or not a whole bunch of my school mates are actually going to do a reunion at the show depending on who can get there for the gig. We will actually be

using my old primary school for the choir on stage, that’ll be Cal Gully [California Gully] Primary School, joining us for one of the songs,” he says.

I think we can all guess which song that will be for.

This is actually something the band do at all of their shows, they involve a local primary school and give the kids a chance to feel like rock stars for a few moments.

Something to remember forever while educating them on the sounds of Floyd.

The show has been really, really well received in

Lachlan Bryce Q&A

ANZAC day may have been and gone, but remembering and honouring them is something we should certainly do more of. And that’s exactly what Lachlan Bryce has done in his album Rising Sons and performance with the Youth Victorian Symphony Orchestra on May 31. Honouring those further, proceeds go towards the White Cloud Foundation.

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

Thank you for having me. I’m very well albeit busy getting the last of the orchestral arrangements finished for my up coming concert.

You’ll soon be doing a show with the Youth Victorian Symphony Orchestra (pictured), are you looking forward to having such a big sound behind you?

I am still pinching myself, it doesn’t feel like it’s happening to me. I’ve always wanted to play with an orchestra ever since hearing Bryan Adams play live with a strings group from Juilliard and Metallica with the San Fransisco Symphony Orchestra.A whole new story can be told with the addition of these wonderful musicians.

I know that’s as part of showing the ‘wartime experience’, did you think it’s important having such overpowering and emotive instruments at your disposal?

There are some things that cannot be said by contemporary instruments in a band. A person’s emotions can only be taken so far. The body of an

orchestra can add that little bit extra to push someone from feeling something so strongly in their chest to having a tear escape from their eyes. That’s my goal with orchestrating my songs. Taking each song to an emotional point just out of reach normally, making rocky parts bolder, mellow parts more delicate. I have been very careful with the orchestration though as to not over power what I am wanting the audience to feel, as with all things there’s a very fine line between amazing and excess.

Getting carried away with all of the possibilities and sounds available could lead to an aural mess – an outcome we are avoiding.

The gig is supporting the White Cloud Foundation as

well, is that a charity that’s close to your heart?

It is. Mental illness is very prominent and something that everyone will experience either themselves or through someone close to them. Family members of mine are suffering from it, as are people who are very dear to me, They put up a brave front, however you can see the pain in their eyes but you can’t fix it. The White Cloud Foundation are treating those with anxiety, depression and PTSD. I chose the White Cloud Foundation to support as their Patron member is the Victorian Cross recipient Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith. It is suiting that an album and a concert dedicated to the soldiers past and present supports an organisation helping Australians that is also backed by an Australian hero.

Delving into these war stories in your new album and the show, have any tales

come out that have stuck in your mind?

I spent some time in Canberra at the war memorial doing research and talking to people there and hearing their perspective. One of my songs, ‘Mount Up’, came from the admiration of a curator for the field medics in Gallipoli and the Western Front when he said, “They were the bravest of the brave.” It was that same day I took a tour (about my third in two days) and had come across the Pacific conflict in World War 2 display.

We came up to a cabinet with a photo depicting the Japanese commander of that area surrendering to an Australian officer with the sword being surrendered below. There was an old man, and whom I would assume was his daughter or granddaughter with him in front of the display. As the guide was talking to us the old man was incredibly apologetic and moved aside. The guide said no need you can join us if you

to play a few shows in Sydney, Jacob says that the spontaneous idea to make their road trip into a film clip was the perfect way to present their new music.

“We just thought we’d document it and it ended up having quite a vibe in the video. There was no concept per se, we just got a bunch of footage of the mayhem,” he says.

This kind of mayhem is what fans can expect when The Cherry Dolls hit Melbourne and Ballarat later this month.

Jacob says the band is always eager to play regional shows as they never fail to bring in enthusiastic young fans.

“A lot of the younger crowds come out and they really get into it. There’s always kids up the front head banging and getting wasted and rowdy and they’re really stoked on

the band, so that’s always a nice feeling,” he says.

Promising their usual electric, high-energy performance, The Last Time tour is definitely not one to miss. Playing a mixture of their newer and older tracks,

the show is more polished than ever before without skimping on the mayhem that characterises both the band and their fans alike.

When&Where: Coburg Town Hall, Coburg – May 31 Release: Rising Sons is available now with 5% of proceeds going towards the White Cloud Foundation (www.lachiemusic.com)

the other theatres that they’ve played at and following their Victorian appearances, they are looking to book more shows nationally and are even aspiring to take the show international and head to Europe and the US.

would like to listen and the old man replied, “No need that’s me in the photo,” pointing at a soldier standing by the Australian officer. I was awed! I also read letters home from soldiers.

Some of those boys were beautiful writers.

And why should locals head along to the gig?

This is very much a once in a lifetime event.

Honouring all ANZACs past and present in the centennial of their birth by fire through an emotional musical journey with a rock band and orchestra for $25 is not something that can happen again, not for another one hundred years at least and sadly I don’t think I will be around for that. Tickets can be purchased from www.VYSO.org.au.

Thanks again for having the chat, is there anything else you’d like to share?

Thank you very much for having me here.

The Cherry Dolls Written by Kara Ready

Hot on the heels of their new single ‘The Last Time’, The Cherry Dolls will be hitting Ballarat later this month for a show that is bound to get your blood pumping.

Straying slightly from their previous Zeppelin and Rolling Stones inspired sound, guitarist Jacob Kagan says their new EP Wasted Pearls, due for release later this year, will be grungier and dirtier than fans have heard from them before while still keeping their own usual spin on things.

“The sound has changed a bit lately. It used to be pretty rock and roll riffs and solos, but now it’s a bit more of a Strokes kind of Velvet Underground sound,” he says.

“Not quite as clean as The Strokes and not quite as nasty as The Velvet Underground.”

When asked what exactly influenced such a style change, Jacob points to when he and drummer Thomas Van Der Vliet joined the band just over six months ago.

After welcoming them into the world of The Cherry Dolls, original members Joshua Aubry, Lachie Gilmour and Mick Byers were more than happy to let their new band mates influence the music the group was creating.

Though Jacob admits that his band mates aren’t always on the same page when it comes to song writing and sound: “I usually get my way though”, he laughs.

The Cherry Dolls’ video for their new single ‘The Last Time’ shows just how electric the band is, not only on stage, but off it too. Filmed as they were setting off 22 forte

When&Where: Shebeen, Melbourne – May 29 & Karova Lounge, Ballarat – May 30

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King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard pg.31

Honest Music, Honest Gal If there’s a lady who’s not afraid of speaking on taboo subjects, the pressure society puts on image and general personal qualms, it’s Shelley Segal.

Exposing much of herself (physically and emotionally) in her music, Shelley will take to the Babushka Bar stage in Ballarat on May 29 to do just that (though with more clothes on of course). Make sure you head down and listen to the lyrics with thought, as chances are they’ll change how you see the world.

Lily Brings the Beat Described as one of the hardest working duos in Australia they return to Ballarat and Bendigo after an extensive run of performances across three states. A highlight was performing in front of 5,000 people when they opened for the band “Mental as Anything” in Heywood earlier this year. Lily and the Drum continue to tour promoting their second full length album Welcome Change. Lily on vocals and guitar unites with John on percussion, harmonica and backing vocals to produce a full sound that has been described as “Honest, raw and energetic”. Their music encompasses a variety of genres but can be best described as contemporary blues, rock and roots. In addition to their own material, the duo perform a few great tunes from their favourite artists and promise the performance will be a “fun musical journey”. Babushka Bar, Ballarat - June 4 & Newmarket Hotel, Bendigo - June 5

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Locals Call Shotgun Live Music Thursdays are back on at Pistol Pete’s Food and Blues this June, featuring a host of ‘Live & Local’ acts. Kicking off from 8pm ‘Live & Local’ will feature artists such as Tex Miller, Nigel Wearne and Andrea Robertson, the sessions are free but it is recommended to book a table as spots are limited.

Rocket to Agent 37 It built inside, getting louder and louder, until they could take it no more and four guys with a love of the Ramones decided they just had to get their love out there. And so it is how we came to know Ballarat Ramones-core pop-punk outfit Agent 37, once upon a time known as The Savages. Last year saw the release of their debut album Reporting for Duty, a 21-track, 38-minute album crammed with punk rock party goodness. Now, there are probably a great many things you could do in 38 minutes other than listening to this album, but all of them would be a waste of your time. The Karova, Ballarat – May 29.

Making the night a little more special will be The Ramshackle Army, The Shorts and Northwood.

Mr Dave Graney

WHO WANTS FREE STUFF? Check out the Forte Freebies on page 10!

Dave Graney, The Savage Sportsman, is one of the busiest men in music.

He has been playing music since the late ‘70s, jumping from The Moodists to The White Buffaloes to Coral Snakes to The Dave Graney Show to Dave Graney and the Lurid Yellow Mist to dave graney and the mistLY in a non-stop musical expedition. The latest releases in the Graney file are 2014’s solo album Fearful Wiggings and the digital-only play mistLY for me, available through Bandcamp.

The latter album was recorded over the last few years at various shows – sometimes with full band, sometimes with a more acoustic set-up in play. The Eastern, Ballarat – June 5 & Major Tom’s, Kyneton – June 6.

Holy Serpent Are Doomed Raise your hand if you like to drink and get high and listen to music. Just what I thought, you can’t be arsed. That’s cool, just read. Or have someone else read it to you. The guys of Melbourne’s Holy Serpent like to drink and get high and listen to music. That’s why they formed a psychedelic doom outfit. They’ve only been in business since mid-2014 but they have already coughed up their self-titled debut. The band made it to the pages of Metal Hammer, who wrote: “Melbourne stoner crew channel their inner 24 forte

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Kyuss with this resinous sludge fest, oozing with thick riffs, iceberg-paced tempos and fuzzy melodic foraging.” The Newmarket, Bendigo – July 4 & The Eastern, Ballarat – July 18.

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Seth Sentry’s Strange Days It’s big, it’s bold and it is beautiful. It is Seth Sentry’s Strange New Past tour, named after his forthcoming second album. The 47-date tour is the biggest tour ever undertaken by an Australian hip hop artist – and it includes a nice little collection of dates in Forte territory.

Strange New Past (which drops June 5 – get it next pay day) is the follow-up to 2012’s This Was Tomorrow and sees Sentry once again teaming with Styalz Fuego. In between albums, Seth has been travelling pretty well.

You may recall in 2013 he won a rap battle on the famous Doritos Stage at SXSW. This little win gave him the opportunity to open for the drool-worthy roster of Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Doug E. Fresh and Ice Cube, as well as a date with Jimmy Kimmel Live. As for Strange New Past, Seth revealed to triple j’s Veronica and Lewis that the new album is “pretty eclectic” and “more cohesive”, thanks largely to the efforts of Fuego and Nick Martin. He also mentioned how the style is more like how he used to rap, when he was young and hungry. Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – July 15; The Black Swan, Bendigo – July 16; The Barwon, Geelong – July 17; The Karova, Ballarat – July 21; and Whalers Hotel, Warrnambool – August 2.

Get Cosy with Marisa Quigley Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt are two of the greats, and songbird Marisa Quigley has drawn comparisons to both of them. She grew up in the Northern Territory, earning a reputation as the “singing barmaid” before moving to Victoria. Here she met guitar maker Jim Dyson, with whom she formed Chubby Rae and the Elevators. If you’re in the Ballarat area and fancy seeing your mug in the liner notes of an album, you are going to want to get yourself to Babushka Bar on May 31. Along with her band Her Sunday Best, Maria will be recording a live album. Great tunes plus being a part of the recording process equals a pretty good night out.

Note that Marisa also has a solo date with Pistol Pete’s, Geelong on May 28.

Hello Yellow Brick Road We all know the news that Elton John is coming to Australia. What we don’t all know, perhaps, is that the surface area of a human lung is equivalent to a tennis court. But let’s focus, shall we? Where does one begin when it comes to Sir Elton? He has sold a lazy 250 million albums. He has been at the top of the charts for nearly four decades. And he is a Grammy, Oscar, Tony and BRIT winner.

But to so many he is responsible for writing the music for the film and stage production of The Lion King. Playing all his hits (and he has many to choose from), the Rocket Man will perform at Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong on December 12. Elton’s first performance in Australia was in 1971.

Hot Chilli Jon Stevens Following a successful solo album, New Zealand-born songman Jon Stevens relocated to Sydney in 1981. A couple of years later he formed The Change, a band that would later be renamed Noiseworks. Here Jon enjoyed three Top 10 singles and four Australian Top 10 albums. Different opportunities would then present themselves, most notably the role of Judas in the Australian musical production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar.

A well-known period in INXS followed, before he returned to the solo world.

In 2012, Stevens teamed up with guitarist David Lowy for the debut album of The Dead Daisies.

Sphinx Hotel, Geelong – May 30 & Torquay Hotel, Torquay – June 13.

Global Battle of the Bands The Global Battle of the Bands heats are off and running – and it is Bendigo’s time to shine on June 20. The Global Battle of the Bands is the world’s biggest music competition for original artists. It is open to bands of all ages and music genres, regardless of experience.

While receiving a golden statute engraved with the words ‘Best New Band in the World’ is pretty sweet for bragging rights, a cool USD $100,000 prize is ever sweeter. GBOB started out in 2004 with 16 participating countries.

Today, you will find an average of 30 countries involved. If you’re free, make your way to The Newmarket, Bendigo on June 20 and make some noise for the local talent.

Countdown to the Arockalypse Once a year for the past few years, when the universe comes together in perfect harmony, when enemies become friends, when there is no bad but only good, when everything tastes like chicken, Arockalypse takes place at The Loft in Warrnambool. It is a time when things are truly at their most excellent. This year you have three days, two stages and 29 bands. June 7 is the biggest day of them all, welcoming over 20 performers. Take a deep breath and take in Melbourne blues-rockers Smoke Stack Rhino, locally connected indie-pop group The Infants (pictured), one-man music machine Harts, Mildura hardrock duo Jackson Firebird, stoner rock trio Dead Letter Blues, Melbourne rock quintet Palace of the King, Otways/Great Ocean Road band Brother James, Sunshine Coast groovers The Dawn Chorus, Warrnambool alt-country quartet The Alamo, jazzy Melbourne trio Sunnyside, Cobden rockers Crossfire Hurricane and Melbourne rock band Them Bruins. A second, local stage will feature Mick Ferguson, Ben Cue, 2 Dudes, Luke Burns, Daniel Unwin, Stannard, Andrew Swift, Talen Galbraith, Jess Skye, Cooper Lower and Adam Molan. Another highlight of the event is local trio Piffen Yonnies playing their first gig in 15 years. Full dates for the fourth instalment of Arockalypse are June 5 through June 7. Take a look at facebook.com/theloftwarrnambool for further information. [Photo: Frances Normoyle]

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Strike of the Cobra Formed by drummer Rafa Martinez (ex-16, ex-Acid King) and guitarist/ vocalist Jason Landrian (ex-Cavity), Black Cobra is a doom metal outfit out of San Francisco. The cred of their previous outfits made them an easy sell, with record companies lining up for their signature.

Their most recent release, Invernal, was released in 2011, although there’s strong word fans will have a new album by years end.

The band has been out our way a couple of times before, so fans know what they are getting. The extra good news is they won’t be alone, with husband and wife duo Jucifer joining in on what will be their first Australian run. The Barwon, Geelong – July 10.

Music Slam 4 Holy moly guacamole, Bendigo’s Music Man Megastore has done it again. Music Slam 4 welcomes winter will an almighty bang, serving up four days of music across June 4, 5, 6 & 7. Then you have the Queen’s Birthday holiday to freshen up. Bands featured include DrawCard (pictured), Lucy’s Crown, Hideaway, Prophetess, Glass Empire, Rhetoric Over Reality, Medicine Dog, Schikain, Le Belle, Red Door, Eater of the Sky, The Soulenikoes, Die in a Dream, Chase the Ace, Obscure, Vendetta, Lowpoint, Evilution, The Filthy Hacks, The Ivory Knives, The Weight of Silence, Fields of Reign and a stack more. A big 2014 has continued into a big 2015 for the Sunshine Coast’s DrawCard. Last year saw the release of their Goons LTD EP and shows with the likes of the Dead Kennedys, The Bennies and Young Lions. 2015 has, so far, gifted the band supports with The Matches and Bam Margera’s Fuckface Unstoppable. They have also released a clip for their track ‘We Are the Future’, which serves as their reason for hitting Music Man as part of their biggest tour to date. The film was filmed near a construction site, with a native forest and sunset as the backdrop. Hit facebook.com/musicman.bendigo for further details.

Bloody Hell, Kevin Hopefully you caught our interview with Kevin Bloody Wilson in our last issue. It was a ripper. If not, check it out online now I tell ya. Born in NSW, Wilson spent time in Kalgoorlie working as an electrician in the gold mines before finding his comedic voice. After more than 30 years in the game, he still has the ability to make you laugh, kinda feel uncomfortable about laughing, and then laugh some more – all while selling albums in numbers that would make any band envious. Werribee Plaza Tavern, Werribee – June 17; Ballarat & District Trotting Club, Ballarat – June 19; The Sphinx Hotel, Geelong – June 20; and Paramount Theatre, Echuca – June 24. This family affair features his daughter, Jenny Talia, as support.

Mmm, Nachos Get the margaritas ready because Chicago’s Weekend Nachos are making their way Down Under in June. Sharing a name with one of the tastiest foods the world has known, the band is widely regarded as ‘powerviolence’ kings. They formed back in 2004 out of DeKalb, the same town in which Charles Bronson was formed, with the objective of making music that combined furious playing with really slow, brutal heavy parts. Their latest studio album is 2013’s Still, although last year they released a split with Wojczech. The Karova, Ballarat – June 10. The band wishes to advise us that their only knowledge of Australia comes from the classic Simpsons episode, Bart vs. Australia.

Benny C’s Fine Dress Sense A combination of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix and Nile Rogers sound like one fine combination, that’s for sure. Fronted by Benny ‘C’ Cunningham, Benny C and the Associates “combine the thump of true blues and soul with an eclectic mix of influences

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from funk to folk” – oh yeah. They formed out of Adelaide at the end of 2013, scoring the Adelaide Roots and Blues Association ‘Outstanding Rising Talent’ gong the following year. For their debut album the band headed for Nashville, sitting down with Andrija Tokic (of Alabama Shakes fame). Red Dress is its name, and getting you down with funk and soul is its game. Let them set you free at The Main Bar, Ballarat on July 18.

Fancy a Game of Kick to Kick?

Josh and Joel Meadows founded indie-pop outfit the Sugargliders in 1989, overseeing the group until they disbanded in 1994.

In an interview with Beat in 1994, Joel said: “The Sugargliders were developing into something which involved a whole lot more people. We had a choice of trying to change The Sugargliders or make a clean break and start something new.” This ‘something new’ was The Steinbecks. 2014 saw the release of Kick to Kick with The Steinbecks, the latest piece of the band’s long history. It marked their first album in seven years and featured the track ‘Kick to Kick’, a dedication to the late cousin of the Meadow brothers. The Bridge, Castlemaine – June 21.

The Theory of Sean Patrick Local talent is the flavour of the night at Geelong’s Beav’s Bar on June 4 with Ocean Grove singersongwriter Sean Patrick releasing his debut EP. Paradigm is a few decibels away from metal outfit Empires Fall, for whom Sean toured and recorded with, with a blues/folkinfused groove-laden sound being where he has found a second home.

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do. This five-song EP is the result of late nights every night after my ‘8-5 working Paradigm’ in the months that have led to now.” Alister Turrill and Luke Pote support. You can get your hands on Paradigm from June 7.

Gizzfest: Now with More Fizz You know a band means business when they use an exclamation point in their album title. Quarters! is the freshly baked new album from psych-rock fuzzers King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and Gizzfest is how they are showing it off. Their own touring festival, Gizzfest has been cooking up a musical storm throughout this fine month of May, but it looks as though Geelong is getting a look-in next month. As well as the Gizz gang, The Murlocs, Facetime, ORB, Mock Turkey, Naked Bodies, The Kremlings, The Underhanded, Dreaming’ Wild, Atolls, Zig Zag, Sewerside and a truckload more will come out to play in the most delightful way at The Barwon, Geelong on June 7.

A Good Hart is Easy to Find When you have a guy like Prince in your corner you know you’re doing something right.

Daniel Hart, better known as Harts, is a singer-songwriter, multiinstrumentalist and composer whose blend of styles is setting the world on fire. Prince had heard some of his tracks and checked him out on YouTube. Liking what he heard, he contacted Daniel, inviting him to Paisley Park. The rising star is set to release a new EP in June, which will be complemented by a big ol’ tour. Breakthrough is the title of the forthcoming five-track release, written, recorded and produced entirely by Harts.

The Karova, Ballarat – June 6 & The Loft, Warrnambool – June 7 (as part of Arockalypse).

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Let the Battle Begin The FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands competition would be familiar to a great many aspiring band and artist. Open to any style of music of any configuration, finalists go head-tohead at the Grand Final at the City of Melbourne’s Moomba Festival in March, 2016. The grand prize features everything a band or artist needs to get a good start, including a day of recording and mixing at Hothouse Studios, a Jack the Bear deluxe mastering session, 500 copies of your work, a $1000 poster/flyer campaign from Shout Out Loud Print and a complete clothing outfit (to the value of $1000) courtesy of Dangerfield.

Hit freeza.vic.gov.au for artist applications and guidelines as well as heat times and venues.

United Nations of Sounds Splendour in the Grass will serve as the perfect little warm-up for the monster tour of international all-star collective Xavier Rudd and the United Nations. As the name of the band suggests, the merry little band of like-minded musicians combines the cultures of Australia, Indigenous Australia, South Africa, Samoa, Germany and Papua New Guinea. The tour shines a light on ‘Flag’, the second single lifted from their debut album Nanna. Frontman, Xavier Rudd: “In a time when Australia is digging deep, marching together and standing strong for our threatened communities in the Northwest and simply the long-awaited need for positive change for reconciliation in our country, I feel the spirit of this band is very important. This album, this tour, this family, The United Nations is an example energetically and spiritually of where we need to be as a nation. We will be touring regional places in Australia; some we’ve never been to, some we haven’t been for a long time, in order to deliver this message and celebrate the energy of one people with our fellow Australians. It’s time to Boogie!” The Capital, Bendigo – September 15 & Costa Hall, Geelong – September 18.

Oh Baby, it’s Ezra Lee I can’t remember what I was doing when I was four-years-old but I reckon I wasn’t learning the Floyd Cramer tune ‘Last Date’ from my old man. It was far from being the only time Tamworth lad Ezra Lee would lean on his dad for musical tips and tricks. Using his dad’s collection of blues records to teach himself boogie woogie and barrelhouse piano, Ezra would also pick up the occasional lesson from Dr John and Johnny “B. Goode” Johnson when they toured Australia. By the time he was 13, Lee was a familiar face on the circuit, playing piano on weekends with different country and western artists and at 14 he joined Johnny Green’s Blue Cowboys, where he enjoyed a sixyear stint. In April of 2011 came the dream-like experience of supporting Jerry Lee Lewis at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend. Along with ‘The Havoc Band’ (featuring Shaun ‘Havoc’ Lee on drums, Pete Mavric on double bass, Kevin Spiers on guitar and Mark McGurgan on tenor sax), Ezra leads Australia’s most sought-after Americana outfit. Motor Head Baby is their latest release. Head on down to Beav’s Bar, Geelong on May 31 for one of the best Sunday sessions you’re likely to come across this year.

Music Man Birthday Bash Humbly dubbed “The Birthday Bash of the Century”, Music Man is warming up for their huge Music Slam show in early June with a show that’s all about them. Yes, it’s their birthday and they’ll cry if they want to – cry tears of awesome. 10 of the best are coming your way on May 30 to help them celebrate the day, kicking off with Ripstart at 5 p.m.

At Seas End, Daywaster, Chase the Ace, Evilution, Stone Djoser, Bick Nackle, ChuggWagon, Intercranial Tremors and Beggarman complete the line-up. Beggarman is comprised of four lads from Melbourne, each with a love of highvoltage rock and roll.

They’re a band that your mum warns you about but secretly listens to.

Doors open at 4 p.m. with a $10 cover.

Put Your Holidays on Ice

Castlemaine Jazz Festival The Castlemaine Jazz Festival is just around the corner. The festival is done out of love, run entirely by volunteers and with performers generously offering their talents with no certainty of a financial return. It is about spreading the joy and craft of jazz. Performers include Anne Hayres, Trio Z, The Beat Bros, Black Pearl, ade ishs, Mainswing, Bella Frisky, Strictly Business, Jazz Notes, Melbourne Blue and many more. Various venues will host the event, including the Five Flags Hotel, the Old Castlemaine Gaol and The Food Garden.

Day passes and weekend passes are available, with the full program available through castlemainejazzfestival.com.au. Queen’s Birthday Weekend – June 5-7.

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Musical partnerships don’t come much sweeter than that of Angie Hart (Frente!) and Dean Manning (Leonardo’s Bride). The two souls comprise the wonder that is Holidays on Ice, who last year released their third album The Luxury of Wasted Space, “a tongue in cheek reference to the modern aversion to emptiness”. The crowdfunded album was recorded and produced

by Dean in his living room to an eight-track reel-to-reel. One of the tracks on the album is ‘Dog with Wings’, and it is this song that has them playing a small number of shows, including Old

Church on the Hill, Bendigo on June 13.

Local singer-songwriter Pat Ward supports. Check out his EP, Moonlight.

The Beatles Are Number One Few bands have stood the test of time like The Beatles. In 2000, 30 years after the band parted ways, a compilation was released featuring virtually every number one single released in the UK and the US. It was, appropriately enough, titled 1 and has sold over 30 million copies, including over 900,000 in Australia. The Beatles Forever is an audio and visual concert spectacular that brings this collection of 27 tracks to life. Set up

by Happy Days Records, The Beatles Forever and The Ritchie Yorke Project, this fantastic show even features lyrics on a big screen, just in case you want to sing along. And you know you do. The Capital, Bendigo – June 5 & GPAC, Geelong – June 6.

A Change Will Do You Good Lily and the Drum at are it again, sweeping across the nation in support of their latest album Welcome Change.

Contemporary retro rock, blues and roots with a dash of rockabilly is how they go about business, a sound that has kept Lily Higgins and John Yacka pretty busy since their debut performance at Adelaide’s Promethean Theatre a handful of years ago. MusicSA: “This album is effortless, and I don’t mean that in the bad sense! Lily and the

Drum just have music flowing from their veins, that they don’t need to put in an effort, it just seems to come naturally to them. Ability just oozes out of their pores and you can hear this musical love right here on their latest release.” Babushka Bar, Ballarat – June 4.

The Golden Fields of KLP Touring is more fun when you have good people touring with you, as KLP seems to be discovering.

The Sydney DJ, producer and host of triple j’s House Party, who by day goes by the name Kristy Lee Peters, is hitting the road for another coheadlining tour, this time with Ballarat synth-pop wonders Gold Fields. It will be a chance for fans to not only hear Gold Fields’ forthcoming new track ‘Lakeside’ in a live environment, but also to check out the collaborative track ‘Make Me Feel’. You may remember that KLP released a remixed of Gold Fields’ single ‘Hold Me’, the original version of which featured in House Party’s ‘Top 10 Tracks for 2014’. The Karova, Ballarat – July 3.

What a Pretty Face How many bassists does it take to change a light bulb? None, the keyboard player will do it with their left hand. I kid, I kid.

Keyboard players, hey?

They’re a good bunch of folks they are. Dan Marsh is a good’un. He used to be the keyman for reggae pioneers The Red Eyes. These

days he is spending his time in Human Face. Drawing from influences including The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, King Tubby, David Bowie and Roots Manuva, the band’s debut features collaborations with Ainslie Wills, Tommy Spender, Jaye Kranz (Brighter Later), Hailey Cramer and Evan Tweedie (Husky). The album is seven years in the making. Catch the launch at The Bridge, Castlemaine on May 29.

The Angels from A to Z The Angels (with Dave Gleeson) are on the road – again. The pub rock legends have spent May rocking away on their A-Z Tour, which, as you may well have figured out, has the band performing 26 tracks – each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. June will be spent abroad before the band returns for another round of local dates.

John Brewster: “A-Z is a blast …It’s great to be able to play so many songs that we are often asked to play but haven’t been able to fit them in.

We’ve tried it, we like it and we look forward to once again taking it on the road for this second round of shows after our gigs overseas in London, Paris and Sweden.” Gateway Hotel, Corio – July 25.

Live on Lloyd Bluesman Lloyd Spiegel has played bills with legendary artists including Buddy Guy, Etta James, Ray Charles

and Bob Dylan and taught and lectured for the prestigious ‘Blues in the Schools’ program in the US. He has over twenty years of performing, writing and recording under his belt and has released a tidy number of albums.

He has toured Germany, Italy, Japan and the US. He has served his time and then some.

And he is not done yet.

His new live album Double Live Set is a 25-track double album recorded over two nights at The Wonderland Spiegeltent in March.

The Goldmines Hotel, Bendigo – June 12; The Main Bar, Ballarat – June 13; and the Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs – June 14.

Winter Blues Festival Dance your cares away, worry’s for another day.

Let the music play, down at the Winter Blues music festival. Recognised as one of the best blues events in the country, the Echuca-Moama Winter Blues Festival is coming around in July.

Performers include the George MacFloyd Blues Band, White Lightning, Sean McConnell, Cleveland Blues, Alister Turrill, Genevieve Chadwick, Uptown Brown, Three Kings, Tex Miller, Stringybark, Andrea Marr, Blue Eyes Cry, Benny Walker, Chris Wilson, Kelly Auty and Wayne Jury, John McNamara and Fiona Boyes. Be sure to keep the dates July 24-26 free. For the full rundown, please refer to winterblues.com.au.

15 Years of Performing Fun size: The Old Hepburn Hotel will celebrate 15 years of their Performance Afternoon Sessions on June 7. From humble beginnings in 2000, the Performance Afternoon Sessions, essentially an open mic, have hosted close to 1000 performers.

Head on down to listen to some tunes, or if you are game sign up to perform. Either way, it should prove to be a great way to spend a lazy afternoon.

We’ve Only Just Begun To live, we’ve got even more gigs. The king of voodoo, one Pugsley Buzzard, has a date with the Piping Hot Chicken Shop on June 5. Australia’s largest and most diverse Celtic gathering, the National Celtic Festival, takes place from June 5 through to June 8. Ben Salter takes on The Bridge, Castlemaine on May 30. The Cherry Dolls will perk up your night at The Karova, Ballarat on May 30.

Sol Nation leads The Autumn Revue at Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal on May 29. Beccy Cole hits Corio’s Gateway Hotel on May 29 and the Old Hepburn Hotel, Hepburn Springs on May 31.

Geoffrey Williams will pay tribute to Bill Withers and Nina Simone at Suttons House of Music, Ballarat on May 29.

John McNamara

Holy Holy’s Top 5 Movie Soundtracks Movies are pretty cool. And movies with killer soundtracks are even better. So we thought who better to judge a movie soundtrack than the talented Oscar Dawson from Holy Holy?

1.The Blues Brothers: I loved this movie as

a child. My sister and I memorised big sections of the dialogue and we knew all the songs by heart. It wasn’t until I was a bit older I realised how amazing it was that the movie featured Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker and Cab Calloway acting and performing – so good.

2.The Godfather: Francis Ford Coppolas’

masterpiece features an incredibly moving soundtrack with a range of moods from epic open scores to dark brooding pieces. It’s cliche but if you’re cooking Italian food and drinking wine this is a great album to put on.

3.Terminator 2: Look, mainly just for the

theme song which we in Holy Holy adore and actually do a cover of. It’s our dream that one of our songs will make a Terminator movie one day.

4.Drive: A brilliantly dark film really lifted by

the song choices – ‘Night Call’ and ‘A Real Hero’ being the obvious standouts. This film has the best opening credits of any film I’ve seen.

5. The Good, the Band and the Ugly: All hail Ennio Morricone. If you’re making an American western film in the hills of Italy - this is the guy you want in charge of sound. Put this on to make any everyday task feel like an epic journey of lust, blood and bullets.

John McNamara is known for his incredible vocals, he even won an award for them, but he should also be known for his ability to play on unusual, and often moving, stages. We had the chat to John ahead of one such gig on The Blues Train.

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

I’m doing great thanks, it’s good to talk with you.

Lately I’ve been busy playing shows, performing songs from my album and trying out some new tunes also. It’s been a great 12 months. Released the album, became a father. Life is good.

So your new album is titled ‘Alone with the Blues’, is that often how you feel when it comes to that music?

You know, I’m actually a very chilled out, stress free kinda person – I have nothing but joy when playing blues music. ‘Alone with the Blues’ is the title because – much like my live shows – it’s just me and my mini maton.

Alone with the blues. The whole record is one voice ,one guitar. I’ve often found that my favourite song on another album is the one track that is stripped right back, and you can really just tune into the voice or instrument. That raw intimate stuff. So, I made an entire album of just that.

You’ve got quite a few awards under your belt, most recently the Australian Blues Music Award for song of the year, was that a great moment for you?

You bet. I was nominated for three Australian Blues Music awards this year. Which was a great honour. I couldn’t make it to the ceremony, though when I received the good news via text – I was over the moon.

Unfortunately I dropped my phone moments later and the screen was buggered. Ha. Still didn’t damper my mood!

That track, ‘Burn, Burn, Burn’ was actually an acapella track, and you are known for your incredible vocals. Were you aware pretty early on as a kid that you had a great voice?

Not at all, I was always a guitar player. Playing in bands etc. I could hold harmonies really well, and enjoyed singing BVs. It wasn’t until around 2010 when I actually starting singing and playing – doing my own thing. I have never taken singing lessons, though I am really taking care of my voice and always working on it. Because you have to when playing festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe. One time I played 35 shows in less than a month. So you have to respect it.

Were your first ventures into music straight into the blues?

I started off playing rock music. I was in cover bands since I was 17. Then original rock group Storm Front which was an amazing time. I had become a fan of many

blues guitarists and just went deeper and deeper into the genre until I didn’t want to hear much else.

I actually had the better part of a decade without performing live. Then I toured as the guitarist for Mr. BIG vocalist Eric Martin in 2007, and began work as a promoter – working with some amazing artists. Soon enough gI ot back into playing my own music and I haven’t looked back since.

Sad news came with the passing of blues legend B.B. King, did he have much of an influence on your music?

Of course, sad news indeed. I was fortunate enough to perform a showcase in BB King’s Memphis Club earlier this year and soaked up as many good vibes as possible. BB lives in all our blues solos.

The Blues Cruise is set to be a fun gig as well, do you really enjoy playing unique gigs like on The Blues Train?

Oh yeah, the unique gigs are the best. I have now played on a train, a paddle steamer, in a medieval church, an old military base in Germany, an outdoor show in the Black forest hills, played against the river in down town Singapore, casinos, and.... a giant upside-down purple cow. I shit you not. And yes, the Blues Train is my home away from home. A blues festival on wheels and I am so grateful to be performing there so often.

Thanks again for chatting with us, is there anything you’d like to add?

Check out www.johnmcnamarablues.com for upcoming shows and download a free song.

Thank you.

When & Where: The Blues Train, Queenscliff – May 29 & Goldmines Hotel, Bendigo – June 14

FAST 5 WITH RESIDUAL! Just a few weeks ago local lads Residual were shaking it off to Taylor Swift, this week they’re answering the big Q’s in our Fast Five.

What’s the bands favourite place to have a drink or a night out in Geelong?

We’re more for the relaxed kind of vibe and such, so places like Beav’s Bar, The Workers Club, Little Creatures and The Sporting Globe are our go-tos usually. But in saying that, don’t rule us out of a Lamby’s appearance!

Darryn Lyons: good for Geelong or bad for Geelong?

I think he’s definitely appealing for the younger demographic, who are soaking it up and loving things that he’s doing. There’s never going to be any politician, local or federal, that’s going to please everyone but things like tourism, getting youth involved and trying to turn around the community itself in a positive way are things that are big yes for me. I’m sure there’s things behind closed doors that people would shake their heads at, but that’s just how it is.

What should we do about all the empty shops around town?

You know what, I really don’t know... I think something that should be supported more is independent business around Geelong. We’re full of life around our community and some things are lost due to big businesses moving in.

If Residual are going out to eat in Geelong, where are they going?

Three places we will never turn down: Oriental Source on Yarra St, 63 Degrees on Pako and The Sporting Globe.

Gay Marriage: yay or nay and why?

Gay people are just that, people. They should have the same rights as every other Australian and I think it’s disgusting that something like this is even an issue. Everyone should live their lives exactly how they want to live them and marry who they love and want to marry without question or the turn of a head. End of story.

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Café Culture

Eddy and Wills Without realising it, we often seek the comforts of home in the cafés we visit. We look for a warm smile as we open the door, a dish that conjures up memories and a place we’d be happy to bring family and friends.

Open for just over a month, Eddy and Wills has become that place for many, including owners Matt Colman and Nigel Holloway who live in the residence attached.

The change of pace came suddenly one Saturday, after the couple had been looking for the perfect space for years. “I wanted to get back into hospitality but I didn’t want to work for somebody else,” Matt says.

“So for about two or three years we hunted around for a shop and a residence as a combined space. This place popped up and we looked at it on Saturday morning and bought it on Saturday afternoon in between a wedding reception and ceremony.”

What was once a hairdressers, security company and another cafe, the space has been turned into a cafe with its own distinct personality.

Walk through the antique double wooden door and you’ll be greeted with a wall collaged from old Geelong Advertisers from the ‘70s found in the roof of the building and the Queen’s coronation papers she brought over to Australia – given to Matt by his grandmother.

There’s a charm in the imperfections, as the feature brick wall is slightly uneven and the concrete floors have minor flaws – each one telling a story from the buildings past life.

“We really just wanted to keep it simple to compliment the building, it’s such a beautiful building so we didn’t really want to change anything,” Matt says.

It’s always the little things that make a home a home and Eddy and Wills is no different. Take a seat at a table in the outdoor area and you’ll be offered a colourful fleece blanket to keep warm, or head inside and as well as taking home a coffee you can pick up a book to read from the community library the cafe have set up.

And the attention to detail stems much further than just appearance, the menu carries on with this ethos with the marinated beef piza, chicken caeser wrap and chips and the 'big breakfast' popular dishes amongst locals. Coffee is also thanks to Code Black made in Brunswick.

It’s been a long time coming after working as an accountant in a law firm, but one things for sure, Matt and Nigel have found their home away from home in Eddy and Wills and so should you.

“I’ve always loved hospitality and I love serving people and it really makes a difference when you enjoy what you’re doing and are happy to come into work every day,” he says.

Where: 130 Church St, Geelong West When: Tue-Sun 8am-4pm Contact: 03 5298 2353 Website: eddyandwills.com.au Written & photographed by Amanda Sherring

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King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard LOCAL FEATURE STORY

Written by Amanda Sherring

It was several years ago when Stu Mackenzie first made a promise to himself to learn a new instrument each year. While Stu admits it’s not something he’s thrown himself into fully, he’s still managed to learn the sitar, flute and is currently learning the clarinet all while juggling the many projects that King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard undertake.

Fast Five with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

Favourite memory from the Nash?

There are so many it’s so hard. But probably Bog Log, or Monotonics gigs – but there were so many good ones there.

How would you describe Darryn Lyons in three words?

Don’t even know.

Where’s your favourite place to hang out and eat in Geelong?

If you could master any instrument in the world what would you pick?

Lucas’ [bassist] parents house. I love the Skinners, they’re the best.

Clarinet.

What would be your beer of choice?

For some reason that’s a hard question. Can I say anything I can get my hands on?

Four years has seen the band release eight EPs and LPs, win $50,000 as part of the Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards, travel the world and most recently create their own touring music festival, Gizzfest. And in true King Gizzard form it was all done naturally.

“It was a big kind of snowball really, it was just meant to be a normal show and all of a sudden it was a festival and we had to call it something,” Stu says.

It seems things move quickly in the King Gizzard world, and almost as quickly as they decided to change the gig to a festival the line up was completed.

“It was actually pretty easy, it was just putting feelers out there you know. Just saying, ‘Hey guys, this is what this is are you interested in getting involved?’ And heaps of people were into it,” he says.

Bands that put their hands up were The Murlocs, Orb, Mock Turkey, Facetime, Naked Bodies, The Kremlings, Merv the Perv, Dr. Strangelove and many more.

With the Smith Street Band also creating their own mini-festival I Love Life in Brisbane and Sydney, there seems to be a new breed of music festivals filling the gaps of those that have failed before them.

“I’m definitely not an authority to be critiquing or commenting on the Australian music festival circuit, but I don’t think the traditional festivals will be going away any time soon, though there is definitely room for more unusual festivals as well,” Stu says.

Authority or not, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have contributed a hell of a lot since they were recognised nationally with their debut LP 12 Bar Bruise in 2012, through to their most recent musical contribution Quarters!.

Listen to the King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard back catalogue and there’s a definite evolution in their music, and Quarters! is an album that steps even closer towards capturing that live sound.

“I really wanted to do it live, but I also didn’t feel like yelling and screaming on a record as well – and I’m In Your Mind Fuzz sort of was that,” Stu says.

“So I wanted to make it really jammy and simple and stretching out simple ideas and then seeing how many little ideas you can fit into one really simple overall idea.”

While the band aren’t playing Quarters! extensively in their live shows, Stu still admits what they do play is a pleasure to get out to their fans and it’s been even more fun playing at Gizzfest and taking on a different role than just a performing musician.

“Gizzfest was so fun.

We did three at the Corner Hotel and it was just such a fun weekend,” he says.

“I think I got to the Corner at 9am on the Saturday because the first band started at 1pm and we had to sound check.

Then I left for six hours to go and sleep and then came back to play and was there until 4am Sunday. So it was just epic, it was such a big experience.

“I was trying to make sure everyone was happy and just going around to all the bands and being like, ‘Have you guys got everything you need?’ I was just trying to look after everyone – but I sort of like doing that anyway.”

With the success of the Melbourne festivals, Geelong is sure to follow suit. Originally from Anglesea, Stu’s looking forward to the gig as it’s his “spiritual home ground”.

So far Gizzfest has been an incredible initiative, and as Stu tells me, there’s a chance it’ll get much bigger next time around: “I think we’ll do some more down the track and maybe try and build it up and make it bigger,” he says.

“But it’s all been really fun and most of the shows are with all of our buddies bands so it’s sort of just an excuse to get all your friends in the one place really.”

When&Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – June 7

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FROC K IT H o w T o S u r v i v e A Wa r e h o u s e S a l e

Written by Katherine Reynolds www.katthewanderer.com | facebook/katthewanderer | @katthewanderer

Written by Jessica Alves | @jessicazalves

I don’t know a single person that doesn’t love a good bargain, and as somebody whose wardrobe is made up of what can be bought on a student budget, there’s nothing that gets me more excited than the phrase ‘warehouse sale’.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, warehouse sales usually happen at the end of a season when a brand sells their old product for peanuts in order to clear stock and make room for new product.

These kinds of gigs are well known to be very intimidating, reminiscent of bad TV reenactments of the Black Friday sales. There’s a lot of shoving and pushing, arguing over whether it’s you or the other woman who gets to buy the designer dress for less than a fourth of the original price and generally grabbing random things that you’re not even sure you need or want.

They can be very overwhelming to say the least, and warehouse sales can usually only go one of two ways: they can be very lucrative and can save you a lot of money, but they can also be severely disappointing and a total waste of time. The outcome usually depends on your approach to the racks, which is of course what I’m here to guide you on.

You definitely need to be prepared to be a little pushy.

I know, I know, getting up in somebody else’s grill over

a T-shirt that you think you might like isn’t the best look, but you gotta break some eggs to make an omelette.

While you’re at it – and at a good rack – if you think there’s something you might like, pick it up. You might not be sure at first, but things will go quickly. Plus, there’ll be plenty of time for you to think about it as you’re walking around grabbing stuff, or while you’re trying it all on in the over-crowded change room. Yes, room. One single big room where everybody gets naked and tries on clothes together. It’s intimidating, but I always recommend trying things on before you purchase them. How else will you know if they’re flattering on your body type?

Speaking of change rooms, you’ll want to go in something you can pull off and on super easily. Think shift dresses and slip on shoes. You don’t want to be messing around in the change rooms with layers and things that will slow you down and keep you from getting back out to the racks.

Lastly, before you make any purchases, make sure you take a second to have a real think about whether or not all of the pieces you’re about to spend your hard earned cash on are worth what you’re buying them for.

Think about quality in comparison to what you’re

FINDING HEAVEN IN TIERGARTEN, BERLIN

paying for it, and use your initiative.

Really think about whether or not you’re getting value for your money.

Warehouse sales are scary, but they can also be a lot of fun. There really isn’t anything better than getting a great bargain when you know that you would have paid 10 times more in store. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.

I love the buzz of a major city and the craziness that surrounds it. The rushing people, the vast and endless streets, and soaking up the experience of it all. However, I love nothing more than finding an escape from it too – typical me! So I did just that in Tiergarten – the largest park in the middle of Berlin.

Connecting East and West Berlin, Tiergarten is Berlin’s answer to New York’s Central Park or Hyde Park in London. What used to be a hunting ground is now miles of charming greenery that completely relax you and encourage you to feel like you’re nowhere near one of the most

famous cities in the world. (I’m falling in love all over again just thinking about it!).

The park is filled with walking and cycling paths, and is right by the sights you’ll want to make sure you see. Such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the Reichstag building, Potsdamer Platz, and the Victory Column. So if you want to make a day of seeing the hot spots in this area, there’s a mini itinerary for you! You’re welcome.

Tiergarten is quite easy to get to, or to be honest, you also might accidentally come across it! As you can stroll into it from most of the main attractions. You can also get the train (S-Bahn) to the station ‘Tiergarten’ and head towards the

Victory Column (which is at the corner of the park). Be warned, you may come across certain nude areas in the park, as the Berliners like to sunbathe nude and there are also a few gay meeting areas around. This is all accepted amongst the Germans, so there’s nothing wrong with it and they’ll just go along doing what they do – naked! You just might see a bit more flesh than intended on your trip to Berlin!

The park is absolutely massive, and that’s an understatement! So if you’re feeling fit and alive, have a little meander around the park on foot. If you’re not feeling too perky, I’d recommend hiring a bike (there are no hills, I promise).

That way you’ll get to see a whole lot more of the park much quicker, while saving your legs.

You could head to the well kept English Gardens and stop for a little rest in the tea house there, or do what I did and have lunch by the lake at one of the restaurants that are scattered around. Most of them are hidden gems, have lovely beer gardens and scrumptious German cuisine.

You could also rent a little paddle boat from there to explore the sights of the park from a different angle. I would love to see it in winter as some of the lakes freeze over and are possible to skate on. Imagine! There are so many options, I wish I could have done it all myself ! Definitely add Tiergarten to your list if you’re ever travelling through the historic city of Berlin. It’s a real treat!

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32 forte

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Sean Patrick

MINI CLASSIFIEDS Send your info to editorial@fortemag.com.au Individual use only, not for commercial purposes Local Bendigo Band Looking for Female singer, cover music, gigs waiting, phone Chris 0403258151

Making the change from playing metal music to folk/ blues is a big jump, but none have done it better than local musician Sean Patrick, who is days away from launching his debut EP.

Hi Sean, thanks for making some time for Forte, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?

I’m doing great thank you, I just got my CDs in the mail ready for my launch which is one more thing ticked off the list!

It’s not long until your EP launch on June 4, how are you feeling ahead of the date?

It’s come around so quick, I’m still catching my breath but I’m growing very comfortable with the chaos of doing things on my own now! I’m really looking forward to the show and can’t wait to show everyone what I’ve been working on in my metaphorical cave.

And how long have you been working up to release your debut?

Back in December 2014 I was offered a spot to play at a private house show on Valentine’s Day. I’d been reinvigorating my passion with the acoustic in early 2014 and working hard on my finger style playing since then. I decided to take to it and work on vocals to accompany the singer/songwriter tag, so it was pretty much two months, every night after my 8-5 working paradigm spent writing, practising and honing in on what has lead me to the direction I passionately follow now.

What can we expect from the EP? I wanted to incorporate a unique blues/finger style approach to the guitar work, focusing on groove

DRUMMER WANTED! Any age is ok, as long as you can play. Call 0430971319 Bass Player Wanted for dynamic (gigging) blues rock three-piece. Contact 0430971319 for more info.

When&Where: EP Launch @ Beav’s Bar, Geelong – June 4 Release: Paradigm EP will be available as a hard copy from June 4, digitally from June 7

and songs that felt right to me. I’ve taken influences from so many great blues and folk artists, locally and worldwide which has combined into something I’m really proud of.

So it’s five original songs, all quite diverse but all incorporate a groove, or a hook to give the EP a cohesive backbone.

We can’t help but ask, why the change from playing in metal band Empires Fall to pursuing a solo blues/ folk career?

I’ve always known that I’d follow back to the blues one day! It was just a matter of when and how. I grew up listening to all the classics like Clapton and Knoplfer through my parents fortunate music tastes.

Have you been enjoying it so far?

It’s been very refreshing. I had to do a lot of research into all aspects of it especially guitar, testing myself with new techniques and all those

sort of technicalities which has been so rewarding. I’m really ambitious for the next phase of this!

We saw that you paid your respects to the legend B.B. King who recently passed away, was he a big inspiration on your music?

Whether people realise it or not I think B.B King has created generations of musical impact – small and large – which have transcended into others and into the music we hear today. It’s a beautiful thing because the crux of what he did will never die. He was an originator and a powerhouse and I’ve certainly taken and continue to take a lot of influence from him.

Given you were in the metal scene, was blues/folk music something that was always in the background for you? Was there a reason why you didn’t start straight out with that genre?

I guess when you go to school with metal heads you usually end up playing metal! So when I showed up to school in Year 7 wanting to be Angus Young that quickly took a gateway into the Death Metal scene through friends. I loved the times shared, mates made all around Australia and the music we created but it was definitely time for me to head back to my roots.

Has it helped having a friend like Alister Turrill, who’s so heavily into blues, as you made your transition?

I don’t think I could’ve transitioned into this without his guidance and influence to be honest.

I’m not sure to what extent he knows that but he’s been pivotal in the start of this journey. I’ve made this interview sound like a love diary for Al now.

He’s also playing and singing on one of my tracks off of the EP where he’s my June Carter and I’m his Johnny Cash.

Thanks again for having the chat, anything you’d like to add? Final words of wisdom?

Thanks so much! Loving the music community of Geelong and can’t wait to see it grow further with the opening of new, great venues.

Bass Player Wanted Experienced Bass player required for established working covers band: think Blondie, Free, Cream, SRV, CCR, Fleetwood Mac, Garry Moore and popular ‘60s/on wood bands.Own gear and transport a must. rehearsals at Ocean Grove.Call Ray on 0418512975 for more info.

Singer wanted for original band doing a mix of retro styles - soul, funk, latin rock, gospel, R&B, groove based stuff.

Over an album's worth of material already written, studio recordings, gigs etc.

Looking for the right voice so drop us a line and we'll take it from there! ben@ bellemusique.com.au Experienced 22 y/o singer, songwriter, guitarist looking for a drummer, bassist and lead guitarist to start up an original rock band based in Geelong. Inf luences: QOTSA, Sublime & Dave Grohl. Contact Tom at: 0487067083

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forte 33

gizzfest The Geelong GIZZFEST is a Public Holiday multi-stage monster at The Barwon Club Hotel in the Gizzards spiritual home of G-troit. To guarantee the best kind of chaos there will be performances from The Murlocs, Naked Bodies, of course King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and more. This will be the Lizards last show before a three month international exploration. Come see them off.

Facetime They may be a bunch of self confessed hugs lovers, but aside from getting all cozy with friends, Facetime are all about creating “facemelting, offensive psychedelic, shoe-gaz[ing]” music. Come for the music, stay for the hugs.

The Underhanded At this festival there’ll be a lot of shoe-gazing, and that doesn’t slow down at all with Melbourne band The underhanded. Though things are amped up considerably with ‘90s styling and grunge rock sounds. Prepare for some fuzz with this one. [Photo: Sarah Lay]

White Bleaches

Naked Bodies

Currently playing some gigs around a few of Forte’s favourite music venues, once you’re in with them you’re in with us! The Melbourne four-piece made up of Anthony Lacarruba, Tyler Slaven, Hugh Warner and Todd Cousens will be bringing some garage psych rock our way, perhaps we can show them how good a live music venue the Barwon Club is while they’re down?

It may have been sad times when Quang Dinh left Little Red, but he’s since found a new home with Cameron Potts, Will Coyote and Brendan West as Naked Bodies. Now with a debut album Piranha out on the shelves and with influences such as Bob Dylan, the Pixies, The Kinks and Nick Cave, we are loving what they’re making.

Atolls Forming in 2012 Atolls have quickly made a name for themselves in the Geelong and Melbourne music scene. It’s hard to define exactly what they create, it’s a beautiful mix of surf, noise, pop and psychedelic rock. Though as the band puts it, their sound is “built on shifting layers of loops and fuzz, with lead breaks purling out of hissing feedback, like Dinosaur Jr. played through a torn speaker cone”.

Dreamin' Wild

Mock Turkey

Featuring King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s own Cook Craig (also in the Murlocs) the band was the brain child of Chris Jennings (also in Facetime and Sagamore) and brought together Cook, Monty Hartnett (also in Sleep Decade and Sagamore) and Sam Cooper (Sagamore). They’ve created a sound of their own and it’s really something to witness to experience, no point wasting words on something that can’t really be defined – though, trust us. It’s good stuff.

After a brief stint with acidjazz – to soon realise it wasn’t their thing – the Mock Turkey band members moved onto a better fit with punk rock. Since finding their home in their new genre, the band released their debut seven track EP Hell For Leather. As their unearthed page says, “Mock Turkey are excited at the prospect at taking their invasion to the world and going for the jugular...beware, your town could be next.”

We’re a bit chuffed Geelong band The Murlocs made the cut for Gizzfest but why not? With the band’s distinctive blown out, fuzzy sound of soulful R n’ B we’d have them play at our house in no time. After forming in 2011 the five piece have cemented themselves firmly in the scene, they’ve even been described as “a mesmerising demented dance party”. Hell yeah!

Mallee Songs Long-form drone may intimidate some in the music scene, but for anyone attending this festival it’s sure to be at the top of your list, and Mallee Songs are all about it. Also stepping into the psych-folk and hazy pop realm, these guys fit in quite nicely.

Sewer Side Sugar Ghouls Sugar may be in their name but there’s nothing sweet about this band – at least not in the innocent sense. Sugar Ghouls are all about blowing your mind with their punk rock sound, and when they take inspiration from flying dragons and riding horses you know it’s possible.

34 forte

Aside from being a pretty clever pun – Sewer Side, get it? - the Geelong lads are bringing are some more surf garage rock. Let’s be honest, Geelong is in the best position to produce this music – we do have some of the most beautiful beaches – and Sewer Side are one of our fine examples of this.

ALSO PLAYING: Zig Zag, Orb and Mudge Bros

AND Djs: KGALW, Ass2Ass, Surf Dad, Dhunt, Merv The Perv, Choma, Hakeem Cannons, Dr. Strangelove & Krit

The Kremlings Sludge punk mightn’t sound like the most appealing thing, but when it comes to how it sounds – especially from The Kremlings guys – it sounds good enough to eat. If only ears could consume music in that way. [Photo: Kristian Wild]

PLAYING TIMES...

The Murlocs

KGALW

11:30 - 12:30

Facetime

11:00 - 11:30

The Murlocs

10:15 - 11:00

Orb

9:45 - 10:15

Mock Turkey

9:00 - 9:45

Naked Bodies

8:30 - 9:00

The Kremlings

8:00 - 8:30

Dreamin' Wild

7:30 - 8:00

The Underhanded

7:00 - 7:30

Atolls

6:30 - 7:00

Zig Zag

6:00 - 6:30

Sewer Side

5:30 - 6:00

Mudge Bros

5:00 - 5:30

Mallee Songs

4:30 - 5:00

White Bleaches

4:00 - 4:30

Sugar Ghouls

3:30 - 4:00

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national c elti c festi v al 2 0 1 5 portalington , 5 - 8 J une I nternational a c ts

national a c ts

Brian Kennedy

Boudica

A protege of Van Morrison, this Belfast boy is an Irish singer-song writer with a unique, gentle voice, and he puts it to good use in his many ballads. He represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006.

Born in Belfast, Brian Kennedy as a singer has perfect pitch and is often described as having ‘the voice which charms angels’. His first album was ‘The Great War of Words’ followed by ‘A Better Man’ in 1996 which gained quadruple platinum sales in Ireland. This led to awards for ‘Best Irish Male Album’ and ‘Best Irish Male Artist’. With the release of the album, ‘Now That I Know What I Want’ he found himself with 3 albums simultaneously in the top 30 of the Irish album charts. In his varied career he has toured frequently, recorded with Ronan Keating, has acted and has performed in Riverdance and on Broadway. Brian has recently made a number of popular BBC TV programs in which he sings traditional Irish songs. He has released albums based on the series and also a single ‘You Raise Me Up’. This famous song he originally recorded for Secret Garden. www.briankennedy.co.uk

A four piece folk/roots ensemble, comprising the surviving members of Donegal Express. The new band has stepped back a little from the hard-edge Celtic Rock music, now playing a slightly more subdued style that showcases to a great extent, original material with Celtic influences written by Sheridan Billings (McShane) on guitar and lead vocals.

The line up has Emily Anderson on fiddle, Graeme Bolton on bass and Alan Sudweeks on percussion, all very experienced players on the folk festival scene and Irish pub circuit.

CherryGrove With traditional songs, contemporary melodies and original compositions, CHERRYGROVE are one of Scotland’s most exciting folk ensembles. Nominated for ‘Up and Coming Artist’ at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards 2014, they have enticed audiences internationally with performances at the London 2012 Olympics as well as Europe’s largest celtic music festival, Festival Interceltique in Lorient, France.

With graduates from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, former students of the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music and a finalist from the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2013 competition, the band produce an exceptional level of musicianship which is evident in their thoughtful and sophisticated arrangements. The line-up includes Marianne Fraser (Guitar, Vocals), Mhairi Mackinnon (Fiddle), Sarah (Harp), Grant McFarlane (Accordion), Heather Shelley (Piano) and Fergus Munro (Drums). www.cherrygrovemusic.com

Ciaran O’Grady & Aifric Boylan “From Ireland, Ciarán O’Grady (concertina) and Aifric Boylan (fiddle) have developed an incredible duet sound and musical relationship.

For many years they played music together late at night when their children were asleep. They’ve now emerged from the kitchen with a great repertoire of Irish and English folk tunes as well as many of their own compositions inspired by these genres. Their music is sensitively arranged and brilliantly performed.

Their debut album, recorded by Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (the Gloaming) is available now.”

Fiona Ross Band Respected in Scotland as a fine interpreter of Scots song, Fiona’s singing style displays her commitment to the tradition and a passion for keeping the old songs and ballads alive. She blends traditional songs into an engaging set along with contemporary gems written by some of Scotland’s finest songwriters. Fiona performs with a band of outstanding Melbourne musicians – Ken Maher on guitar, Michelle Burton on harp and Angus Downing on fiddle – whose sensitive arrangements bring new life to the old songs whilst capturing the traditional style. www.fionaross.com.au 36 forte

Brian Kennedy

Charm of Finches

Fiona Ross

The Duplets

Melbourne sister duo Mabel and Ivy (aged 15 and 12) have been beguiling audiences with impeccably blended harmonies, gently picked guitar and song writing beyond their years since busking at 11 and 8. They released their debut EP “Home” in 2014, and have busy since as the youngest gigging folkies in Melbourne. 2014 saw them songwriting finalistsat MaldonFF, playing with Clare Bowditch, at Queenscliff Music Festival, The Melbourne Folk Club, and Cygnet Folk Festival and Newstead Folk Festival January 2015.

Claddagh Traditional or folk music could scarcely be considered complete without reference to the rich, extensive archive of Celtic song, which has spread with our emigrants to every corner of the world and has been passed from one generation to the next. Claddagh, Sydney’s most exciting and versatile traditional folk band prides itself on its variety of styles and songs, ensuring that no two consecutive performances offer the same entertainment.

Claddagh’s line-up includes Mark Butler, Mary McEvilly, Leon Delander and Jacinta Coorey.

Claymore CherryGrove

Mairead Hurley & Ado Barker Mairead Hurley (All-Ireland concertina champion at age and senior levels) and Trouble in the Kitchen’s Ado Barker (winner Best and Fairest, Woden Valley Cricket Club u13s) are two musicians from whom the music flows free and true.

In combination, they capture that magic, often elusive, energy that traditional players forever seek – the sound of the tunes set loose, as if playing them -selves. Joined at the festival by Ado’s Trouble band mate Joe Ferguson on bouzouki, this is a rare line-up that’s sure to lift the roof !

The Duplets Gillian Fleetwood and Fraya Thomsen’s shared passion for music ancient and modern, finds expression in their Scottish Harp & Song duo, The Duplets. Brought up in the Scottish Highlands, Gillian Fleetwood and Fraya Thomsen first met in musical workshops in Inverness. Both went on to study in Glasgow where their friendship and musical partnership continued.

As The Duplets they debuted with a sell-out concert at the Edinburgh International Harp Festival and have since appeared at Celtic Connections, Green Man Festival, West End Festival, Blas, Solfest, Folk Alliance International, Harfentreffen, Dinan Harp Gathering, Edinburgh Fringe and more. Much in demand for workshops and commissions as well as performances across the USA, UK and Europe they are often lauded for note-perfect flair and musical poise. www.theduplets.com

With a mixture of traditional Scottish and Irish music and modern self penned Celtic rock Claymore represents the best of new age Celtic Folk Music. Through a diverse and unique mix of sound’s featuring guitar, mandolin, fiddle, military snare, the highland bagpipes and even a didgeridoo, it is little wonder Claymore are one of Australia’s most popular festival acts. A not to be missed extravaganza of fun music dancing and laughter. Featuring William Hutton (Vocals, Guitar, Bodhran), Grant Scroggie (Guitar Bagpipes, Bodhran, Vocals), Michael Doyle (Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals), Mick Mills (Drums, Percussion), Lindsay Hodgson (Bass, Didge, Vocals) and Craig Scroggie (Drums Percussion Vocals) www.claymore.org

“Night of My Life,” two days after the Australian Idol finale. The record debuted at number one and remained atop the Aussie charts for four weeks.

In 2007 Leith released “Where We Land”, his first album free of the Australian Idol branding. The album debuted on the ARIA charts at number one, and quickly went gold. In 2009, Leith returned with his third studio effort, “Remember June”. Damien Leith returns with ‘Songs From Ireland,’ an album that celebrates Damien’s musical heritage and delivers another chapter in the creative life of this remarkable singer. ‘Songs From Ireland’ was recorded in both Sydney and Dublin and features contributions from Sharon Corr (“Black Is The Colour”), Sharon Shannon (“Galway Girl”) and, via the wonders of modern technology, the late Bing Crosby (“Galway Bay”).

Full Swing The 2015 Stars of the Lake award winners are 4 talented girls playing and singing a fresh approach to folk, Celtic and acoustic music. With their sweet vocals and harmonies, fiery fiddle playing and a swinging rhythm section, this quartet will melt your heart one minute and have you grooving the next. Ballarat musicians, Ari Lane (vocals &cajon) & Rhiannon McArthur (vocals, guitar) are joined

by Adelaide fiddler Caity Brennan and Camperdown bassist Jordy Hickey to create another fine band - the 9th from this highly successful initiative of the annual Lake School at Koroit.

Mandy Keating & Helen McLachlan Melbourne based duet, Mandy Keating & Helen McLachlan have played music together for over a decade in various bands. They have a unique sound, revealing subtle Anglo-Celtic melodies, moving lyrics, warm and inviting harmonies and rhythmic influences of bluegrass, Celtic, folk and gospel. Mandy and Helen are both talented musicians & song writers, they play around seven instruments between them with a rich background in Irish and Scottish music. In their performances, they have created a unique diverse sound by combining their talents on guitars, whistle, Scottish small pipes, mandolin, percussion and vocals. www.mandyandhelen.com

Melbourne Scottish Fiddlers

In its 20th year and stronger than ever, the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club explores the lively sounds of Scottish music with repertoire that both acknowledges and reinvents traditional roots, drawing enthusiastic and loyal crowds. Reviving the best of 20 years of fiddling and 5 awardwinning CDs, the MSFC will also be bringing exciting new arrangements.

With some genre-bending moments featuring the Club’s alumni, some of the best fiddle players in Australia, their exhilarating shows are not to be missed. www.melbournescottishfiddlers.com

Penny Larkins & Helen Begley Songwriter, Helen Begley, and Vocalist, Penny Larkins, present the story of the lives of single and free young women that migrated to Australia from Ireland, England and Scotland in the 1840’s in original songs.

Sásta - Queensland Sásta (‘Happy’ in Irish) have made a huge impact on the Irish music scene in Australia recently. The band is made up of multi-instrumentalists who have performed at the highest national level delivering pumping reels with phenomenal energy, Sásta have supported international acts such as Aslan, Damien Dempsey, Mundy, Sharon Shannon ,Shane McGowan’s band ‘The Popes’ (formerly of The Pogues) as well as performing to their ever growing fan base at many festivals around the country. Sásta headlined St.Patrick’s day celebrations in Hyde Park, Sydney. This year’s ‘must see’ band! Featuring Mick Hughes (Guitar & Vocals), Kevin Higgins (Flute, Pipes & whistles), Fred Graham (Fiddle) and Rocky Towey (Accordion) www.sastaband.com

Shamrock Sheilas Regular visitors to the National Celtic Festival, The Shamrock Sheilas delight and entertain their audiences with flawless fiddle tunes and wonderful songs and music. Hailing from every corner of Ireland, and immersed in the history of traditional Irish music, The Shamrock Sheilas performance is a wonderful mix of lively, foot-tapping tunes, beautiful songs and cheeky fun.

Don’t miss them. Includes Louise Phelan (Fiddle), Maeve Moynihan (Fiddle), Mary McEvilly (Fiddle), Susan Miller (Accordion, Fiddle, Piano) and Cara Kavanagh (Guitar, Vocals).

Tawny

Sásta

Damien Leith Damien Leith was one of the myriad young singers launched to success via the international television phenomenon Pop Idol. Born in County Kildare, Ireland, Leith relocated down under after marrying an Australian native, and fronted the band Revelate, which enjoyed a fervent fan following on the Sydney nightclub circuit. Leith was working as a chemist when friends convinced him to audition for the fourth season of Network Ten’s amateur showcase Australian Idol in 2006. Selected as one of 24 finalists from a pool of over 25,000 contestants, he won praise from the series judges for his distinctive falsetto, also accompanying himself on guitar. Considered a dark-horse candidate by fans and handicappers, Leith ultimately triumphed against rival Jessica Mauboy in the final. Upon signing to Sony BMG, Leith issued his debut single,

Melbourne Scottish Fiddlers

Martin Reese, Chris Clarkson and Davydd McDonald join forces to create an exciting fusion of rhythm, beat and dance. These exceptionally talented multi-instrumentalists draw upon decades of musicianship to produce a spectacular performance - whether it’s a beautiful slow air or a pumping lively jig. With an array of influences ranging from traditions such as Appalachian/ American, English folk and pure Irish, they aim to produce a rich, authentic and modern take on the Celtic genre. www.tawnyirish.com

The Simpson Three Damien Leith

The Simpson Three are a trio of siblings who perform predominantly Irish music, with a few interesting flavours! They are highly talented multi-instruMENTALISTS who perform tight and refined arrangements of trad and contemporary tunes and songs. Their show will have you

laughing along at hilariously terrible sibling rivalry one second, and then will have your toes tapping along to crankin’ tunes the next! They are recent winners of the Peter J Daly Award and Declan Affley Awards for excellence in Traditional Irish Music. “You will definitely wanna check these guys out!” - Their Mum. Featuring Declan Simpson (Guitar / fiddle / vocals), Clancy Simpson (Banjo / Guitar / Vocals) and Bec Simpson (Bodhran / concertina / vocals) www.thesimpsonthree.com

Tolka Tolka have recently returned from 6 months in the UK where they composed and recorded their second album under the guidance of Brian Finnegan (Flook/Kan). This new project comprises entirely original material which pays tribute to the band’s varied influences including traditional Irish music and the music of the wider Australian folk scene.

In the last 3 years, Tolka have taken their unique blend of tunes and songs to audiences across Australia and the UK and are proud to present their new album in Jan 2015.

Featuring Hilary Glaisher (Vocals/ Fiddle), Robert Hillman (Vocals/ Guitar), Allan Evans (Vocals/Flute/ Whistles) and Cameron Hibbs (Tenor Banjo). www.tolka-music.com

Victorian Welsh Male Voice Choir The Victoria Welsh Male Choir performs throughout Victoria, interstate and overseas. Presenting about 20 concerts a year, it is known for its professionalism and entertaining engagement with audiences. They have sung with artists such as David Hobson, Marina Prior, Sylvie Paladino and flautist Jane Rutter. They are the only foreign choir since 1929 to compete at Wales National Eisteddfod both in 1999 and 2004, where we won third place in 2004. Our repertoire includes many Celtic tunes with a large number naturally sung in Welsh.

Cultural G roups

Portarlington Harmonica Club The band plays diatonic harmonicas accompanied by percussion, lagerphone, bodhran etc. Performances are restricted to the Bellarine and on board the tall sailing ship the Enterprize. Music is in accordance with Australian Scottish and Irish traditional airs.

Scottish Gaelic Society of Victoria The Scottish Gaelic Society of Victoria is a non-profit organisation consisting of members, who are keen and enthusiastic about keeping the Gaelic language alive.

The object of the Society is to “promote the study and cultivation of the Scottish Gaelic language and culture in Victoria”.

A L S O AT N AT I O N A L C E LT I C F E S T I VA L :

Anna & Jordan (QLD), A Rose and Thorns, Barleyshakes (NSW), Borderline Kaylee, Classically Celtic, Co-cheòl, DrumWorx, Eric Purdie, Kelly Family Band (NSW), Likely Celts, Melbourne Comhaltas “Taste of Irish”, Mick McHugh, Moondance – Van Morrison Tribute Band. Taliska, Working Dog Union, Zeon, O’SheaRyan Irish Dancers, Celtic Dancing Club of Noumea, Geelong Scottish Dance, Cathie’s Celtic Dance, Celtic Piping Club and Christian College Ceilidh Band.

When&Where: National Celtic Festival, Portarlington Friday 5 June - Monday 8 June See nationalcelticfestival.com for more info Ciaran O’Grady & Aifric Boylan

Connect with the very best of Celtic Culture

Music as well as Theatre, Dance, Workshops, Song, Markets, Trad Talk, Language, Sessions, Children’s program, Pipe Bands, Buskers, Storytelling...

Brian Kennedy (IRE) / CherryGrove (SCOT) / The Duplets (SCOT) / Feis Rois (SCOT) Damien Leith (IRE) / Fiona Ross Band (Scot) / Mairead Hurley (IRE) Theatre C21 (IRE) / Sásta / Moondance — Van Morrison Tribute Band Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club / Tolka / Barleyshakes / Shamrock Sheila’s Classically Celtic / Tawny / Taliska / Zeon / Working Dog Union + full lineup on website.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW Find us on: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram

www.nationalcelticfestival.com.au

forte 37

Forte Columns

PULP Written by Alastair McGibbon

too heavy to hug Written by Paul S Taylor

Welcome to THTH, Forte’s premier source of all things heavy, hard, fast and metal. If you read my last column then chances are you’re not reading this one because I decided to defend Nickelback from the lazy sheep haters and admitted I was going to their Melbourne show. I didn’t actually go to their Melbourne show but my defending them, rather, insulting try hard hipster sheep remains.

Speaking of being childish, if you’ve spent any time reading comments on any metal blog anywhere, you’ll have come across what us professionals call, the tiny pieces of shit that hang off articles.

It’s just like that Slipknot song, ‘People = Shit’, and the predictable resultant said comment on said blog would be that in fact Slipknot are shit. Man, that song was so ahead of its time.

Having spent nearly eight years writing this column I have read some shit and admittedly, written some shit too, but in all of that time nothing has changed, we’re all just a bunch of metalheads trying to outcool each other because who else do we have to out-cool? No one, no one is cooler than us. We know we’re the coolest music fans so there’s no point discussing music with non metal people because they’re not worth the time.

So, instead of all being communal music hippies and embracing each other we decide which metal bands are shit/too popular/too obscure/ boring and then give our brothers (or sisters) shit about it. We can’t be the communal hippies, the music that brings us together isn’t the most conducive to hugging trees or strangers at the best of times.

In other news...

Wanna feel old? Silverchair have released their 20 year anniversary of their debut album Frogstomp.

Twenty f*cking years, can you believe that shit?

Voyager will play The Evelyn on Friday May 29.

Decimatus and Envenomed will play the Barwon Club on June 5.

The Black Dahlia Murder and special guests Psycroptic and Colossvs will play three shows at the Northcote Social Club, one on Saturday June 20, an all ages show on the arvo of Sunday June 21 and 18+ evening show on Sunday June 21.

Machine Head will play 170 Russell on Tuesday June 23.

Senses Fail will release their sixth studio album Pull The Thorns From Your Heart on Friday June 30.

Lamb Of God will release their seventh studio album VII: Sturm Und Drang in July.

Cradle Of Filth will release their new studio album Hammer Of The Witches on Friday July 10.

Counterparts will release their new album Tragedy Will Find Us on Friday July 24.

Baptiss will release their new album Biomass on Friday June 26. The band will also play Melbourne’s Howler on Friday July 17 and The Eastern in Ballarat on Saturday August 1.

Bullet For My Valentine will release their new album Venom on Friday August 14.

Nightwish will play only one show per capital city on their Endless Forms Most Beautiful Tour 2016 and the Melbourne show will be at The Forum Theatre on Monday January 11.

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

Last year I used part of this column to talk about Greg Dodd and the good work he is doing for Blues for Lost Souls.

Just to refresh your memory, Blues for Lost Souls is a fund raising event to raise money, food and clothing to support the homeless. This year will be the third year the event has run.

In 2013 the event raised $5,500 and last year the fundraiser concert collected $19,323 for the Father Bob McGuire Foundation and to purchase a new car to assist with the work of The Big Umbrella.

A large amount of donated tinned food and clothing was also collected at the concert.

Please ensure that the tinned food you donate is in a ringpull can, as there are not many can openers on the streets. Socks, beanies, gloves and scarves are also great clothing items to donate.

Organiser Greg Dodd said, “This year’s donated food and clothing will be going to Anonymous X. A great organisation that delivers desperately needed items to shelters and homeless folk on the street directly!”

Anonymous X works through outreach programs, organisational assistance and raising awareness.

Anonymous X stands for the personal before the political, raising awareness of the issues of homelessness and disadvantaged by sharing (with permission) personal experiences through their social media outlets, and providing practical support through donations of toiletries, food items, clothes, toys and other essential items.

The charity believes that ‘the smaller things in life’ can actually make the biggest of differences to a person who is less fortunate.

This year the concert will be on August 8 at the Williamstown RSL, home of Way Out West.

For 2015 the line up includes Jimi Hocking’s Blues machine with Chris Wilson, Blue Heat, Lloyd Spiegel, Dreamboogie, Chris Finnen, Justin Yap Band, Ruby Rogers Experience, The Melbourne Jukes and more.

A major raffle with donated prizes will be held and drawn at the event and Cole Clark have again donated one of their superb guitars for the raffle. Last year prizes were also donated by other organisations and individuals, ranging from Blues Train tickets to 24 piece ½” socket sets!

The stage will be moving into the corner of the main room, giving more seating with all tables having a view.

Even sitting in the back stalls of the bistro area, you still get to have an unrestricted view.

The stage area currently in place in front of the stained glass will be held for limited Gold VIP ticket holders at a premium price.

“If you are a musician or a music fan, and want to make a difference, then this is probably the best way to have an amazing session of music, and have in bigger, more direct impact than you have ever done before,” urged Greg.

Tickets are sold at the door, but if you want a table or reserved seating, better get on to the Willi RSL as soon as possible.

Mark goddamn Millar. Boy oh boy, that man most definitely doesn’t disappoint. Truth be told, until recently I hadn’t gotten around to actually reading his independent work – naturally, I’d read his work with the Big 2 – I consider Superman: Red Son and Civil War (soon to be a major motion picture, yadda yadda) to be modern classics – but other than watching the first Kick-Ass movie (and being amused by the profanity and excessive violence), I hadn’t really been exposed to Mr Millar outside of the relatively tame realms of DC and Marvel.

Initially published by Top Cow Productions – a partner to Image Comics – back in 2003 and running until 2005, Wanted is the king of all what-if scenarios, and showcases Millar’s talents when he’s well and truly off the leash.

No one is safe!

Wanted follows the downward spiral of Wesley Gibson, a cubicledwelling, eternally downtrodden mess of a man whose life is dramatically – and violently – changed when he discovers that he is the son of The Killer, a member of a fraternity of supervillains who have been literally running the world since 1986.

Yeah, you read that right – the super-villains are actually running the whole world. They surprised their super heroic nemeses by doing what no-one thought was possible – working together – and launched an all-out war on the caped crusaders, men of steel and any do-gooders who stood in their way. Despite the odds, they actually won. Almost all of the superheroes are dead, and the ones who aren’t are brainwashed into thinking that they were merely actors portraying the heroes on television. Wesley is brought into the fraternity after his father is slain, and comes into his own abilities as the new Killer. He works to uncover his father’s killer,

PUNK! Written by Christopher Cruz

Fat Wreck veterans and allround legends (not to mention, one of my all time favourite bands) Lagwagon have finally launched an official merch site (lagwagonmerch.com); offering tees and, most importantly, hoodies to keep us warm through the winter months. Yes, I HAVE already placed my order and YOU should, too.

In other Lagwagon news, the guys will be playing The Fest this year alongside the likes of Mustard Plug (remember them?!) and The Menzingers. Swoon.

August 4-7 this year sees the return of the incredible Punk Rock Holiday festival in Slovenia.

The line up reads like a dream: Anti Flag, Satanic Surfers, Against Me!, Less Than Jake, Madball, Raised Fist, Death By Stereo, Teenage Bottlerocket, The Exploited, Flogging Molly, Guttermouth, the Beatsteaks and many, many more. Note to Aussie festival promoters: THIS is how a line up should look! Next time you bring a bunch of emo screamo types out here and say it’s punk rock, somebody is going to get bottled.

So, Alternative Press magazine is no longer so, um, alternative. This fact was made official when they decided to stick 5 Seconds of Summer on the cover. When I was growing up, it was all about bands like Weezer, AFI and Rancid, not boy bands who have OTHER pop punk bands write their songs for

and revels in his new role as society’s worst nightmare, leaving his former life behind.

If that doesn’t get you interested in this book, I don’t know what will.

This is a book that has the villains well and truly at the forefront. These aren’t antiheroes either; murder, rape and torture are everyday occurrences to these characters, and they revel in it. They’re the worst humanity has to offer, and Millar plays up their horrendously violent outlook on life with glee. Boy, does it make for a hell of a read, too; seeing Wesley enter this colossal downward spiral into depravity and murder sounds like a confronting read – and in some ways, it is – but it’s refreshing to see the bad guys actually get a chance to shine and do their absolute worst.

Millar has done his best to throw in as many analogues for modern heroes and villains as he can without breaching copyright laws – there’s counterparts to Batman and Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Clayface, Bizarro, Venom… the list goes on and on. Wanted is essentially an extended bloodbath; I literally lost count of the number of deaths shown in the book, and Wesley’s newly acquired skills mean that he is essentially an untouchable, leather-clad whirlwind of death and destruction.

There’s none of that bullet-bending crap from the movie here, and no Angelina Jolie strutting around; this is full-blown, non-stop carnage – and if you like rooting for the bad guy, you’re going to absolutely love Wanted.

them. Not that I’m calling them pop punk. God forbid!

So, the recent Alice Cooper/Mötley Crüe tour was an interesting one. I went in sceptical of Alice and a huge fan of the Crüe – and had a total change of heart.

Alice absolutely KILLED it, putting on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.

Mötley on the other hand... Yikes. Time has not been kind to these ‘80s relics.

Seriously. I thought Mick Mars was going to leak embalming fluid all over the stage.

The setlist sucked (they played drech like ‘Primal Scream’ and their version of ‘Anarchy In The UK’, as well as crap I didn’t even RECOGNIZE) and yet AGAIN treated the crowd to Tommy Lee’s rotating drum kit. They’ve been making a big deal of that shit for 25 years now. It’s the cock rock equivalent of Pink doing her twirling-on-a-trapeze schtick for the last however-many-tours.

Discerning punters are OVER it. But the bogans love it and never tire of it, so it keeps being trotted out. Memo to Pink: I’d go to the circus if that’s what I wanted to pay to see. Oy. There’s still a vacant drum stool in the Hopes Abandoned camp. Interested parties should hit up their Facebook page PRONTO. Tour rumours doing the rounds right now: SNFU, Lowerclass Brats, Danzig.

Yes, I would die. Please let this be true!

Well, not the dying part.

Despite playing a new song at Rock In Rio (in Las Vegas, not Brazil!), Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has told fans not to hold their breath waiting for a new studio album. Oh-kay... Luckily I only listen to the records they made BEFORE turning into Bon Jovi in 1991!

Hard Ons. New album. Peel Me Like A Egg. Get it. Now. I’m serious.

So that’s a wrap for another issue, kids.

See ya back here next time for more of, well, this!

pop culture

THE NIGHT VIBE

Written by Anthony Morris

Written by Tex Miller thenightvibe.com.au

If you were one of those hoping that The Weekly was going to be Australia’s answer to The Daily Show, good news: it seems your prayers have been answered. Well, at least as far as the format goes. Unfortunately, the last five or so weeks have mostly delivered a show that tries to look like it’s tackling the news head on but doesn’t really deliver the goods when it comes to substance. The alarm bells first started ringing back in week two when, after a fairly grim week in news (the Bali 9 executions, the earthquake in Nepal), host Charlie Pickering came on and let us know that we didn’t need to worry – he wouldn’t be making any jokes about that stuff. Which isn’t exactly what you want to hear from a news comedy show: if they can’t think up any decent jokes about a news item, fine (it hasn’t stopped them since), but the whole idea of making fun of the news is built around figuring out ways to highlight the absurdity of the news. And as the news, by it’s very nature, is usually going to be more bad than good, that means if you can’t wring comedy out of bad news then you’re in the wrong line of work.

Worse, while the show generally speaking does do a decent job of balancing out the serious side of things with lightweight laughs, they’re so rigorously kept separate it often feels like watching two different shows clamped together: a recent story about how a): silly North Korea is but b): we shouldn’t laugh at how silly North Korea is because it’s actually really unpleasant was head-scratchingly puzzling as it tried to both make jokes then make us feel bad because joking is the last thing we should be doing.

It’s not that a show like this shouldn’t try to make serious points: it’s that usually the angle that works is one where a serious point is made in a funny way, not simply by putting a serious point next to a completely separate joke. Regular cast members Tom Gleeson and Kitty Flanagan do pretty much the same stuff they’ve been doing elsewhere, which is great if you’re a fan and not really in keeping with the rest of the show if you’re not: if you’re going to rip off The Daily Show, why not have comedy news reporters who tackle actual news, rather than just dress up regular comedy rants in newsy outfits?

If the whole show was worse it’d actually be more entertaining, because at least then it’d be possible to relax and laugh at it (or even just enjoy the jokes that work for what they are). But at the moment it’s just not as smart as it needs to be to make this particular mix of news and comedy work: considering it was a show that got laughs out of dropping a piano on guests and having a guy in an octopus costume stagger out of a locker while Francis Greenslade shouted “unleash the Kraken!”, it’s hard to accept that Shaun Micallef ’s Mad as Hell looks likely to remain the sharpest Australian news comedy of 2015.

If you’re a regular reader to The Night Vibe column, you might remember a few issues back I talked about the greatest live albums of all time. Now this isn’t a continuation of that piece, however this week I am focussing in on those albums that you have on your computer, your big hard drive or iPod that you have just simply forgotten. Yes I am sure that, if you look back through all the albums you have imported into iTunes, there are a few that you have neglected over the past couple of years and now is the time for you to dig them out again, because they are simply fantastic.

If we’re talking about a top five, I think without a doubt the first cab off the rank has to be Try! John Mayer Trio Live. A lot of people might resent me for saying that, but if we are talking modern day electric blues, then look no further. Recorded over a period of three months back in 2005, this release is before Mayer put out Continuum – which we all know from ‘Waiting on the World To Change’, a massive album and a game changer for Mayer. Bringing together the trio is quite possibly the best thing that he has done. With the concept of putting together a ‘soulful’ band – Mayer did just that. Over the course of an hour, the trio churns through both Mayer songs as well as blues standards from Jimi Hendrix to Ray Charles. I discovered this album back in 2007 and to this day it is my favourite live blues album. The guitar playing and orchestration of the songs to the rhythm section (Palladino and Jordan both have played with The Who and Eric Clapton) make this an album that sticks in your mind.

‘I Got A Woman’ has got to be my favourite tune and you can see a full performance of the band at their peak from just a quick google.

My brother was a big musical influence on me and furthermore was the one that got me into the musical genius that is Radiohead. For 20 years now, they have been bringing out sensational albums and they are all entirely different. One of the albums that I forgot about until just recently however, was Kid A. It’s one of those albums where you just have to listen to it from start to finish – no toilet breaks or stopping for a cup of tea. 11 tracks of complete electronic bliss, this is an album that will be forever marked as a pioneer of the electronic rock genre. Suffering writers block, the album was recorded in Paris, Copenhagen and England and is listed as the 67th greatest album of all time. Combining many different influences and sounds, I think that this is quite possibly the band’s best album and if you haven’t revisited it recently, you should. Masterful song writing, from one of the world’s greatest rock bands.

Finally #3 of the forgotten albums comes from an indie rock band that unfortunately are no longer together. Breaking into international super-stardom courtesy of Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, The Zutons are one of those bands that had such an incredible live energy to their performances.

Together as a band for nine years, they were at the forefront of the Liverpudlian indie rock sound before Catfish and the Bottlemen and The Wombats formed. Their second album entitled Tired of Hanging Around is simply an indie classic record. A little bluesy and definitely focussing on the jangle of the guitar, you should check out this album. ‘It’s The Little Things We Do’ and ‘Valerie’ are definitely highlights from a record that should be in your collection.

If you look at their clip from Jools Holland on YouTube from 2008 you can see Dave McCabe (the lead singer before he was convicted of assault) sporting a lovely Fender Coronado guitar. A fine instrument indeed.

Just writing this column, I am trying not to fan girl too much over such an amazing instrument. I guess that’s what happens when you have an eye for vintage guitars.

These are three albums you should definitely check out because they are all different yet unique in their own way, and certainly not worth forgetting.

forte 39

Refining the Palette

KittY Flanagan Chuck her in a suit and tie or a glitzy dress and she’s just as funny as she is in her standard get-up. Kitty Flanagan’s comedy has an ability to transcend whatever genre or setting she’s put in, maybe it’s because no matter what situation you’re in there’s always something to complain about but more likely it’s evidence of her talent as a comedian.

We had a chat to Kitty about her new venture The Weekly, heading to Bendigo and general comedy funny stuff.

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

Things are great at the moment, very busy doing my tour and also having a lot on in Melbourne working on Charlie Pickering’s new show The Weekly.

Last time we spoke you were enjoying getting outside of the major

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cities for your shows, are you looking forward to heading to Bendigo this time around?

Bendigo is one of the favourite stops on the tour, we’ve been there a few times now so we know where to get good coffee, good food and nice wine – the important things in life.

You’ve since started on The Weekly show with Charlie Pickering, do you

think it’s just what the public needs?

I think Charlie is really hitting his stride. I find myself watching the show going, ‘Ooh this is fun AND learning!!’ I’m laughing and also going, ‘Geez, good factoids! I did not know that!’ The Weekly has some excellent researchers.

Do you think there should always be someone poking a bit of fun at our

politicians?

Yes and wherever possible, that person should be Tom Gleeson – no one does it better.

He has giant comedy balls and will say anything to anyone.

Have you ever come across old friends that you’ve mentioned on stage, I know there was a certain cop that’s been mentioned. Have you ran into him?

A lot of people claim to know the cop I’m talking about but they don’t. I like to think of the cop as a compilation of people.

You’re often praised for your impersonations of people, have you ever done them face-to-face with someone before? Did it get you in trouble?

I remember rehearsing some “bit” for the Year 12 school review not knowing the head nun, Sr Maureen, had snuck into the hall to watch – she promptly cancelled the show. Shut the whole thing down. I was doing an impression of my ancient history teacher at the time…who had a great sense of humour and probably would have enjoyed it.

Other comedians have said that the career path has stemmed from a childhood/life of having to see the funny side of life, is comedy a bit of a release for you?

Yeah, sort of because in real life I’m a dreadful conversationalist. I’m that boring person people try and get away from at a party. I see them doing it, looking over my head to see who else is around – and I don’t blame them.

In my head I’m thinking, ‘Oh I know! I’d be trying to get away from me too!!’

But on stage, something happens and I manage to be funny and interesting!

Thank God. We’ve got to say the tampon tax is something grinding our gears lately, but what’s been something that’s annoyed you recently?

I think the hating on social media has reached a tipping point. There is so much of it now, it’s just become white noise and it’s actually much easier to ignore. I don’t know why people feel the need to tell you how much they dislike you.

It’s such a weird – not to mention rude – thing to say to someone you’ve never met.

When&Where: Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo – June 5, Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool – June 19 & Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat – June 20

Projected on the Wall For this year’s National Reconciliation Week (May 27 – June 3) the theme is ‘It’s time to change it up’ and Geelong are certainly on the ball with that one. This Friday night marks the opening for the week and if you head down to City Hall you’ll get the chance to see works by talented local Aboriginal artists – young and old – projected on the building from 5.30pm. The projections will run night from 6pm until June 7 and are one of the many activities around Geelong that are celebrating the strength and culture of our local Aboriginal community.

Write This Way Fighting for Brighter Futures What began from witnessing young women worldwide be bought, sold, traded and stripped of their human rights, Offspring has since set up to restore the lives of those affected and share their vision. To further spread their message the team will be hosting a celebratory night to look at the Offspring journey, while also lighting lanterns to represent their vision of the brighter futures possible for women worldwide. The event will take place at The Pier, Geelong on Friday May 29 from 7.30pm. Tickets are $15 (purchased from offspringproject.org) with proceeds going towards the vision.

Emerging Writers Festival is on this weekend, and while it may be in Melbourne we can’t wait to hear from the talented wordsmiths.

You can hear some words of wisdom from Heidi Pett from FBi Radio, critic Anthony Carew, feminist Clementine Ford and many more. The festival runs until June 5 and tickets and information can be found at: emergingwritersfestival. org.au.

Back to Life Head along to Buckley Falls and chances are you’ll be mesmerised and curious as to what the old brick building on the edge of the cliff is for. For those in the dark, the building is The Barwon Paper Mills and it’s coming back to life. To get a taster of what’s yet to come, head along to the open day on June 6 to see a space where old meets new and art meets industry. The mill will be open from 10.30am until 3pm and is located at 100 Lower Paper Mill Road, Fyansford.

Refining the Palette

Her Majesty’s Turns 140

UP Creative Written by Amanda Sherring

It’s a common occurrence for a security guard and a bartender to become friends. Working in the bar scene can be tough, but as Kellie Greaves and Will Cook soon found it helped them move on from the hospitality industry and start the creative business they’d always dreamed of.

With a background in cinematography and photography, Will was in the perfect place to take Kellie on as a business partner and nurture her passion for photography.

Now four years on, the duo share roles in photography and film, though their passion for cinematography often filters into their photography work.

“I see everything like I see it as a film and I think that’s why our photographs are different,” Will says.

“I’ve trained Kellie not to see as a photographer but as a cinematographer and getting drama into the images by framing it like it’s a film frame.

We’ve all grown up with movies so when you see that look, you know it and you equate it to a big budget production and not just a happy snap. We want cinematic.”

One of the great things

about UP Creative, aside from their work itself, is they haven’t pigeon-holed themselves into a certain genre of photography.

“The thing about our business is that we pretty much love everything we do,” Will says.

“As soon as we’re pulled in a certain direction we can’t help it we just think, ‘Let’s do this’,” Kellie says.

As a result their skills are varied and are a unique offering to the photography scene in Geelong. Not boxing themselves in has allowed them to take on music gigs, baptisms, fashion shoots, boxing matches, birthdays and most recently a surfing tutorial with Mick Fanning for Audi Australia.

“Getting a gig with a client that big was huge for us,” Will says.

“We were working with awesome people, we were down at the beach

and pretty much had free reign to bring our vision to it and just had so much fun with it.”

Talking with both Kellie and Will it’s easy to see that they’re minds simply don’t switch off, and the two are the first to recognise this. Will confesses to dreaming during the day and creating his life into a film while Kellie is constantly taking photos with her eyes.

Clearly passionate about what they do, Kellie even took to getting her camera tattooed on her forearm (so it could be seen when she was taking photos) to celebrate UP Creatives first year.

“It was a celebratory tattoo,” Kellie says. “It’s just a quick sketch that I did and when [the tattoist] saw it he was like, ‘That’s exactly what we’re doing’.”

For both Kellie and Will, the joy comes from capturing those candid moments that happen in the blink of an eye.

“We want to capture those moments that only happen for a quarter of a second, someone seeing their best friend in the corner of a club and losing their mind,” Will says.

“We had one where this couple were at Bended on Australia Day and they just came

out of nowhere. She just came sprinting out of the crowd and dive-bombed this guy in a massive hug and I just happened to capture that moment.

You can feel it in the image how awesome that moment is. These two people are connecting and that’s the stuff we want to be capturing and be known for.”

Aside from creating a name for themselves for capturing candid moments, UP Creative want to start making their own unique content and increasing the amount of film projects they’re working on.

With his background in film, Will even confesses he hopes to create a number of his own short films. For now, the two will continue taking incredible films and photos and working toward the bigger picture.

“The strength of us is that we don’t have any cookie cutter, ‘This is the way we do it and we need to do it every single time’.

We’re just two artists who can take beautiful images and we just go and play,” Will says.

You can get in contact with UP Creative via their Facebook (https:// www.facebook.com/ upcreative/timeline) or website (http://www. upcreative.biz/).

The year was 1875, a year where the United States Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, where Birmingham City F.C. is founded and when Her Majesty’s Theatre (then the Academy of Music) opened with a gala performance. Following on 140 years later, the theatre celebrates its anniversary with a gala concert highlighting the milestones over the years on June 7. Featuring Roger Lemke, Jason Wasley, Peter Toohey, the Ballart Symphony Orchestra and many more the event costs $50 for adults and is a great way to take part in the theatres history and a major milestone.

Human Fuse Factory Photo by Melissa Smith

FIGMENT Wow - you’re awesome. You’re actually reading printed material and showing an interest in the Geelong scene, so you should definitely know about FIGMENT (10am-6pm, Lt Malop Street, Geelong - Saturday May 30).

FIGMENT is an annual event that is part outdoor interactive arts exhibit, grassroots community arts festival and social experiment; a unique chance to express creativity and inspire others. FIGMENT embodies the belief that everyone can make something of artistic value. FIGMENT is free, in the sense of not costing anything (which is something I’m sure you enjoy if you’re reading this), but also meaning that it’s open, welcoming and inspiring.

FIGMENT gives everyone the chance to play like kids, so kids want to grow up.

FIGMENT is an opportunity to share art projects that may not fit within conventional ideas of what ‘art’ is. Artists are invited to share their inspiration without concern for pleasing the commercial market or paying for wall space while also deepening connections to the community through the shared experience of each project. FIGMENT is kinda like burning man but not as much burning things and not as much desert.

There’s really no one thing that FIGMENT is, because it’s anything you want it to be. At FIGMENT, if you see a gap for something you want to express, you can just do it, and no one is going to mind. In fact, people will like it and want to talk to you about it and join in. Because it’s not just about art, it’s about a new approach to being a community.

www.courthouse.org.au

What’s on this month at

CHYA

A FUNNY THING

NED HAPPE AT SCHO OL

DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTORS CUT

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED AT SCHOOL

Arthouse Film Screening

10 week Theatre workshop

Friday 29th May 7pm P: 5224 2815

FREE

23rd April – 25th June

BUYMARR The artwork of Nathan Djerrkura, as part of Reconciliation week.

27th May – 9th June

FREE

E: reception@courthouse.org.au

forte 41

Refining the Palette

Dave Hughes Written by Amanda Sherring

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On stage comedians are full of confidence, pausing only to allow the laughter it’s time to shine. Though behind the smiling faces as they talk of daily embarrassments, the need to seek laughter often comes from a much more serious place.

“It’s corny to say but comedy is a defence mechanism and I often think the most popular kids at school don’t become comedians because they don’t have to be. If everything is working out for you, you don’t really have to see the funny side of life,” Dave Hughes says.

“So you kind of draw from the attitude of not taking yourself too seriously. I’d love to visit my 7-year-old self and be like, ‘Mate, just chill out please. It’ll all be fine buddy. Stop stressing, you’ll make it.’”

For Dave, being laughed at wasn’t something he always took delight in and as a worried, sensitive child it was often a cause for stress and self-doubt.

“I remember when I used to walk around the school yard and hear people laughing I’d be like, ‘Oh god they’re laughing at me’, and I’d be mortified. Now when I hear people laughing I go, ‘Eeyyyyyyyy’. So when you have that

attitude it’s fun to be laughed at,” he says.

A number of years later, having seen through the worrisome primary school years and with a new-found take on life, Dave realised that comedy was what he really wanted to do.

“I had a dream about doing comedy from the age of about 14, and I remember lying in bed one night and thinking, ‘You know I want to be a comedian’. And it was like a light bulb moment where I really knew what I wanted to do,” Dave says.

“But you don’t tell anyone that because obviously not many people get to actually be a comedian, so I certainly kept it to myself over a number of years. But it was in my mind even as I was failing a business degree and exams. God I hadn’t studied at all.

I’d spent six months smoking bongs and I thought ‘I’m going to get bloody zero for this exam’. I always had it in my head that I wanted

to be a comedian. So I think I would have just been 22 when I did my first gig and so I went from there.”

At his first stand-up gig, thoughts of ‘What am I doing with my life?’ and ‘I’m a failure’ circled around his mind as he tried to land a sequence of jokes. Suffice to say, his first gig was terrible.

Not one to give up on the dream Dave persevered and by the third gig had found his feet.

“My third gig ever I just walked on the stage and something occurred to me that I’m just a winner for being up here. The laughter I got at that third gig was just intoxicating and it just took from that moment.

And I have not stopped since,” he says.

Since that night in 1993, Dave has since taken on numerous guest spots on TV show The Project, a lengthy career as a radio presenter on KIIS FM (previously on Nova FM) alongside Kate Langbroek and this year joining the panel on The Footy Show.

While each role holds a special place in Dave’s heart, hitting the stage again for his show Pumped is where he feels he truly belongs.

“I’ve just loved getting out in comedy rooms wherever they are. Whether it’s 30 people, 100 or 1,000 I don’t care. I really do love it and I think I always will,” he says.

When&Where: GPAC, Geelong – June 13

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Nina Las Vegas Written by Amanda Sherring

Follow Nina Las Vegas’ social media antics, her constant communication with fans, insights into her childhood and countless selfies and there’s an air of confidence that seems to follow her wherever she goes.

Though confidence for Nina isn’t something she credits to herself, and has actually proven to be a challenge during the process of creating her new EP. “I am the most vulnerable I’ve ever been because I’m trying to transition into an artist as well and it’s so fucking scary,” Nina Las Vegas says of her new EP Cool Sports out now.

“I finished a beat yesterday, and the idea of sending it to someone to see if they thought it was good was so daunting.

I could easily send something to Diplo or RL Grime but I’m too nervous to because they’re my friends. But I have to get over that because no one cares except yourself.”

The jump from radio personality to artist may seem like an impractical move, but Nina has actually made many changes through her career and was often the person behind the music’s creation before she was the one granting it airplay.

“That’s the thing about sending out music is that if people actually know my background is that I was a producer first; I made all the mixes, I made all the promos, I did the sound design. I was making music and playing in bands before I was on air. The on air stuff just kind of worked out,” Nina says.

It’s this background that has enabled Nina to know exactly what the industry needs and what the people want to hear.

“I know what’s missing and what I miss – because I’m making tracks that I play out. I’m pretty clubby, I mean obviously I push the Flume sound and all of that, but like everyone I move fast and I’m keen to hear different stuff. I want more people to make clubbier tracks and more people to take more risks and create weirder sounds,” Nina says.

“At the moment there is a particular sound that you hear a lot. So I’m kind of just working through all that, and that’s the advantage of working at triple j because we get maybe 40 songs of a particular sound and I just get to take it all in and get to hear what people like and what’s working.”

Though Nina is quick to add: “But ultimately you have to love it yourself, and that’s the big thing is trusting your own ears.”

When&Where: Uno Dance Club @ Bended, Geelong – June 7 RELEASE: Cool Sports EP by Nina Las Vegas and Swick is available now

Pvris Written by Natalie Rogers

This spring, US rockers Pvris will come to Australia for the first time ever, so we caught up with front woman Lynn ‘Gunn’ Gunnulfsen who is, in her own words, “buggin’ out” to finally meet all their Australian fans. “I can’t believe we’ll be seeing everyone soon and we’re bringing one of our favourite bands with us, Circa Survive. We grew up listening to them, so it’s pretty cool we’ll be on tour with them in Australia. I was just saying to the guys the other day how lucky we are!”

In the last 12 months Pvris signed to Rise/Velocity Records and released their debut album White Noise, with Gunn making history as the first and only female lead of a band on the label. “I know that comes with expectations, but I’m up for it,” she says confidently.

“When we were shopping around and looking into different labels they were at the top of our list because we knew a couple of bands that had worked with them and they had nothing but good things to say.

“They’re also super hands off when it comes to the writing and recording process,” Gunn explains. “They don’t get involved and let you do whatever you want, but they support and back you 100 per cent. That was really appealing to us because we know that a lot of record labels will try to influence what you’re doing or your sound – they want to step in and tamper with

it, and there are some things that shouldn’t be tampered with! That, and they’re a pretty wellknown label in the scene we’re in and they’re very happening right now.

We’re more than happy to be a part of the family.

“I feel like right now we’re where we should be. The chemistry and the dynamic with the band is perfect right now – and it felt so good to finally release White Noise,” Gunn smiles. “We had the record done for almost a year before we put it out. It felt like holding in a big secret and we were just waiting to share it. It has opened up so many opportunities for us – it’s the thing to blame for everything that’s happening to us now.”

Now that Pvris have found a home at the label, the three-piece

from Lowell, Massachusetts seem to be unstoppable.

They’ve spent the last two months touring around the world and recently caught the attention of the good folk at Alternative Press Magazine, earning them a nomination in no less than four categories: Breakthrough Band, Song of the Year for ‘My House’ and Best Music Video for ‘St Patrick’, with Gunn being

“In my day-to-day life I’ve probably been accused of being an over sharer a couple of times, so whatever it is that makes one self conscious about over sharing I don’t have whatever that is – to an extent,” Alex says.

Despite sharing his stories a bit too much – or as some would claim - Alex is actually much more interested in hearing the stories of others – whether they’re told to him directly or gained through other means.

“I would stand there for a good hour looking for photos, and I suppose I was just looking for a picture that told a story,” Alex says of looking through family pictures at a flea market in Portland.

“You’d go through for 20 minutes before you

found something that had a romance to it and that’d make you smile. Those are the ones that I bought and it’s just a great thing to do. I could do it all over the world.”

While the main drive is intrigue into another life, a large part stems from Alex’s disinterest in his own story.

“These [pictures] are all real people with stories far more interesting than mine and I’m lucky enough to own a little record of their lives – it’s really beautiful but also really creepy and perverse,” he says.

It’s a self deprecation for Alex that is by no means out of character. It shows it’s head occasionally in his music, as we talk over a freshly brewed tea and in writings to fans but instead of breaking him down, it’s an ever present trait pushing him on.

“In my song writing, and across the board, I kind of fall back on self-deprecation – I find that a really comfortable place to exist. Every now and then you’ll hear in these songs that my tongue is firmly in my cheek – there’s no hero in this music at all,” Alex says.

It’s a strange mixture of elements that allows Alex to create his music, and as he once described Portland as having a weird beauty, the same description can be applied to everything he does. Though with all the questions into his methods, there’s no denying that he gives it his all.

“All I know is that I gave When We Talk About Love everything and I can’t wait for people to hear it,” he says.

When&Where: 170 Russell, Melbourne – September 20 (18+) & 21 (U18)

singled out in contention for the title of Best Vocalist.

In the usually male dominated category, this year Gunn will have to beat out Paramore’s Hayley Williams to take out the honours. “I couldn’t believe it when I found out who I was up against. All the singers are incredible, but Hayley is the one person I credit for sparking something in me. I first saw Paramore play

when I was in Middle School and I suddenly thought ‘Oh shit! I wanna do that!’” she laughs. “She’s definitely a trailblazer and maybe one day someone will say that about me, who knows?”

Oh Mercy Written by Amanda Sherring

There are few people who willingly look in the mirror, not to take pleasure in vanity, but to analyse their misdoings for further possible growth. Alex Gow of Oh Mercy is one such person who does, and knows the precise moment of when to do it.

The time to do so came when Alex took close to a year off to travel America, work on writing his next album and generally expose himself to things he hadn’t seen before.

“I lived in Nashville in this beautiful log cabin which was originally built as a tavern in the late 1800s in Arkansas and was bought to Nashville and rebuilt,” he says.

“It was so beautiful, and I had all my demoing stuff with me so I leased a room to do that and lived with another musician directly across the hall. She’d moved from LA and was coincidentally also making demos for her new album. I also lived with another clever and kooky woman who was running a business out of her home – and you know 50 dogs and 50 cats. It was really cool and I wrote majority of my songs when I was over there.”

The resultant release was Alex’s most personal album to date, When We Talk About Love. A release that followed on from the rather fictional album of Deep Heat and that marked the return to his honest writing style.

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When&Where: Howler, Melbourne – August 22 Release: When We Talk About Love is out June 19 at all good retailers

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accord. The stronger theory goes around that he was fired. So for now, we have a movie about a very popular character, attached to a massive fictional sandbox lying around waiting for a film maker to do him justice. I know a certain guy living in Adelaide more than willing to take a crack at it.

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BY HARRY SHEARER 10. Andy (Aussie PM) 9. Bad Dream House 8. Kwik-E-Mart President 7. Sam (barfly) 6. Roscoe (steel mill worker) 5. Bort (adult version) 4. Ben (uni nerd) 3. Nigel (B-Sharps manager) 2. Hugh Jass 1. Dash Dingo

WHERE PIRACY REALLY

When I was a kid, there were four different video stores that I would regularly go to. There was Video Ezy, whose range was beyond anything I’d ever seen. I could walk in there at 3pm, spend three hours reading blurbs and looking at covers (it was important to know which action movies contained just enough nudity to enjoy, but not so much that it would raise suspicions at home) and finally stagger out of there with 10 weeklies in my arms, and a further 50 on the “next time” list.

Next, there was Blockbuster. It somehow felt more corporate than Video Ezy, like QANTAS is to Virgin Airlines, but Blockbuster were second to none when it came to providing me with newest content. When my dad and I wanted to watch Twister the day it was released (and if you were eight years old when Twister was released on VHS, you absolutely had to!) we knew where to go.

Third cab off the rank was Leading Edge, who seemed to go out of its way to oppose its name. When Blockbuster was dishing out Mario Kart 64,

Leading Edge still had me renting Alex Kidd in Miracle World. However, what both had going for them was value. At the risk of sounding much older than I am, in my day, $5 could get you two new releases, seven weeklies AND still have change to buy microwave popcorn.

Last, but certainly not least, there was Rad. Rad was my favourite type of video store guy, he ran his own business, had a love for movies and was more than happy to let a 14-year-old kid take home Pulp Fiction & Full Metal Jacket for the weekend. Next to my father, Rad was the only man I ever loved. He was also the first to die…not literally, of course, but figuratively. You see, with every passing year of my life, owning a video store has become less and less profitable. Nowadays you’d be hard pressed to find a privately owned store.

I have to admit, I was as much to blame as anybody. Rad was pushed out by the big chains whom I also frequented. I was too easily drawn to their shiny lights and huge supply.

For years after that, they gorged on the public. Video stores the size of Bunnings opened on every block, promising that if it wasn’t in stock, it was free. But where are they now?

Like the dinosaurs before them, after seemingly millions of years of ruling the Earth, they virtually vanished overnight. A quick Google search shows one video rental store in my local area. One. Again, I – and us all – are to blame. The explosion of torrenting has meant the death of the local video store. See, that’s the real problem with video piracy, it’s not the Robert Downey Jrs or Sony Studios that get hurt. Box-office takings on blockbusters are still so huge that King Marvel is going to take home a $50M paycheck no matter what happens.

But ultimately, it’s the guys at the end of the chain that get screwed over. “I’ll wait for the DVD” has turned into “I’ll wait until I can torrent it.” However, piracy doesn’t allow for exploration of the unknown, as you can only search for what you already know you’re looking for. It doesn’t allow for friendships and discussions over the counter. It doesn’t allow for recommendations, and bottom line, it costs most to the people who can afford it the least. Piracy may be easy and cheap, but like most things that are (Pirates of the Caribbean included), it’s empty and hollow.

Written by Mitch Grinter.

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Since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm (and therefore rights to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises) in 2012, plans for new films have steadily made progress. We clearly have Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode 7) opening in the middle of December this year, which will start off a new trilogy. The first one is deep in post-production under director J.J. Abrams, and episodes 8 and (possibly) 9, will be under the leadership of Rian Johnson.

However then there’s the spin-offs.

What of those? What are they?

Who do they focus on? More importantly, who’s in charge here?

Lucasfilm have spoken of plans to release an instalment in the Star Wars universe once per year, with core series and spin-offs combined. Now there have only been details released for two of them so far, so let’s take a look: ‘Untitled Boba Fett solo film’.

Speculation has been rife about Fett being chosen for his own film since the announcement of the sale. He’s a fan favourite and a stand out character in the universe.

The Mandalorian bounty hunter has been a man of mystery for years, and we all know his story in the films. The masked character was the man that brought Han Solo to Darth Vader for carbonite freezing in The Empire Strikes Back. In just a few minutes of screen time, he made an major impact – since people naturally wanted to know more about the guy who snatched our rebel hero.

He came back in The Return Of The Jedi only to arguably go out like a bitch within the first half hour, sabotaged by Luke and swallowed inside the Sarlacc Pit. The prequel, Attack Of The Clones, introduced us to the child version of Bob, along with his father Jango, who provided himself as the genetic model for the clone army. It seems now we’re going to find out what happens in between.

I must say, I count myself as one of those Boba Fett fans. I’ve always loved the design, brought to life by Joe Johnston, who later directed films such as Captain America: The First Avenger, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids and The Rocketeer. Fett’s mask is memorable, as is the colourful armour and jetpack combination he wears. Now, despite what

we saw in the prequels, still very little about the Fetts was revealed.

This is where it might get tricky.

Part of Boba Fett’s appeal is that he is mysterious, am I right? If we now find out every tidbit, every nook and cranny about him, what he had for lunch and the kind of toothpaste he prefers, will that diminish the coolness factor? Will that now make him less interesting? Then again, is it possible to make a minimalist film, one that allows us to follow this dark character with curiosity, from his point of view, without learning too much? It can happen. Look at 2012’s fantastic Dredd for example. Even though we know it’s Karl Urban under the mask, not once does he take it off.

In that film, the mission is the story, and knowing about Dredd’s personal life isn’t really relevant. In fact, it probably would have been distracting.

We understand who he was due to his actions more than anything else.

I don’t think that made the film any less entertaining by keeping details about the man vague and simple.

Now, it’s true that most films benefit from character development, as well as seeing the cast go through some kind of arc, growth, the achievement of a goal or some kind of loss, simply even just to make us care about them.

Many films without such growth can be very one dimensional, hollow, boring and unsatisfying, but a skilled screenwriter and director combo can take us on a ride whilst keeping a cloudy aura around the lead. It’s a risky and precarious problem, but I think Dredd just shows us that it can work.

The director that was attached to this until last week was Josh Trank.

Trank is the wunderkind that debuted (feature wise) in 2012 with the sci-fi Chronicle, a brilliant and innovative addition to the otherwise tired ‘found footage’ sub-genre. I was very impressed with this film, so when I heard that he was attached to take on the Fantastic Four reboot (and later a Star Wars spin off ) I was excited.

However, revealed information (including the recent trailer) about the F4 has been met with mixed reviews. I have to say, I’m one of those detractors. To cut a long story short, let’s just say that adhering to and paying respect to the source material doesn’t seem to be high on Trank’s agenda. For many people, the F4 film (due out later this year) looks to be kind of disastrous. His professional conduct has also come into question with rumours abound that Trank was abusing drugs, acting erratically and damaging the rented home that 20th Century Fox had him living in during production. The signs were concerning, and Trank has now left the Star Wars project. Press releases have stated that Trank left on his own

The second spin off is maybe just as exciting as The Force Awakens. Taking place in between Episodes 3 and 4, the synopsis is thus: “A band of resistance fighters unite for a daring mission to steal the Death Star plans”. How cool is that?! A teaser trailer has been released, so progress is well underway. The director of this project is Gareth Edwards, previously of Monsters and 2014’s Godzilla fame.

Here’s where the spin-offs could really work. If they get the right story and focus on the right character to extrapolate on, well there’s this massive universe of characters to choose from. The possibilities are near endless. As much as I love the Star Wars films, (admittedly, I haven’t delved into the novels yet) there’s so much about the Rebellion that wasn’t told that I as a fan want to know. I’ve always felt a little short changed in that respect. How are they organised? What’s the hierarchy and structure like? What are the rebels like and where do they come from? Who dares defy the Empire and sign up for such peril? Where do they get the parts to build their beaten down, rough as guts (but no less cool) X-Wing Squadron? I think many of these questions could be answered and to take the guise of a war film, it fills me with a lot of anticipation.

I love the idea of this, telling an unknown story in this massive saga and focusing on the lesser known characters, giving them the screen time they deserve. Plus, who doesn’t love the X-Wings?

Strangely, I have less to say about this than I do for Boba Fett.

I do hope that Edwards can bring to the table a true faithfulness to his approach. Though he has only two features to his name, he is not known for his action prowess. I have not yet seen Godzilla, but I’m aware that many of the criticisms surrounding it centred on his insistence on cutting away from the creature and destruction instead of placing the audience right in the middle of it. While I appreciated him trying something different with Monsters, frankly I found it far too slow paced, meandering, dull and maybe even pretentious.

I wanted to know more about the aliens he barely showed, not this vapid couple I struggled to care for. Hopefully with Rogue One he strikes the right balance, giving us some serious character time, but delivering all of the action and spectacle we expect from a Star Wars film. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Written by Sean Watts.

Cosmic Psychos Written by Natalie Rogers

“We may end up splitting the atom at some point!” front man Ross Knight jokes when asked about their upcoming tour with Brisbane stoner punks Dune Rats. “We’re generations apart, but from all accounts they’re a top bunch of blokes who really enjoy taking the piss out of everything including themselves – so it just seems like a very good match. These shows will be a lot of fun – they’ll be playing in front of people they wouldn’t usually play in front of and vice versa so it’s win win, and I’m sure we’ll respect each other’s beer rider – I’m sure there’ll be no problem with that!”

The much-anticipated double header kicks off on the fifth of Dune (ahem sorry, June) timed perfectly to coincide with the release of the Psychos’ ninth studio album, eloquently titled Cum the Raw Prawn. The 10 tracks on offer can only be described as unashamedly Psycho – there’s certainly no denying that Knight, Onya and Muller have honed their distinctive sound over the last three decades.

Add to that the fact that the entire album was recorded at Knight’s Spring Plains farm, and it makes their first release in six years even more worth the wait.

“The control room was my bedroom and we recorded the guitars in the kids’ room,” Knight explained. “We jammed in the lounge area and did vocals in the laundry – it worked like a treat. The only problem was that once we’d set everything up we realised we didn’t have any

new songs, so we had to do some song writing on the spot – which took all of about 15 minutes,” he laughed. “The first things that come to mind are usually beer, schnitzel and broken relationships when I’m writing a song – my brain only functions one way. The next five albums will probably be about the same stuff I’d say. There’s nothing too complicated about the Psychos – we just put those same three cords in a slightly different position and bingo, there’s our song.”

‘Better, Not Bitter’ is the first single to be lifted from the album and its release was coupled with an attention-grabbing video clip. “It’s a corker of a clip, isn’t it? The shooting of it was a helluva day, I’ll tell ya!

Unfortunately I can’t take credit for the concept

When&Where: Max Watts, Melbourne – June 13

– that was the work of Weston [who also directed the Cosmic Psychos: Blokes You Can Trustdoco]. His secret ambition was to do a Wolf Creekinspired short film – I think he’d been waiting for an ugly band like us to come along with a song so ridiculous and out there that he couldn’t go wrong!”

One scene sees kidnapped TV/radio personality Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald (and self-confessed Psychos fan) escaping from Knight’s clutches, only to have his

head blown off in all the schlocky-horror glory you’d expect. “I did an interview with someone last week and they were saying how menacing I was in the clip. I was thinking: ‘Bloody hell, you don’t see me doing the dishes at six o’clock in the morning!’ I’m not a bad man at all – you can ask my kids about that. Sure, I yell at the cows every now and again, but other than that I’m ok.

“I wake up every day smiling, saying, ‘Geez, I’m happy I’m in this band’ – and not much has changed.

Dr. Colossus

minor characters which add the real depth to the show.

Bart is merely a canvas for these characters to paint upon.

How have you found people responding to your music, have you found a correlation between the Doom Rock and Simpsons fans at all?

Believe it or not most people who get into stoner rock or doom are generally well and truly into watching cartoons. What we first thought might be a really strange mix has proven to be a bit more natural than expected. The problem we face is that these people are often very die-hard and will become incessant at giving us suggestions for songs. ‘Can you please write a song about [insert character here]?’ It’s a lot of pressure to

write tracks when you know there’s some serious Simpsons geeks listening to all the words and trying to pick it apart.

A good pressure. We’re really lucky to have that enthusiasm from people.

Could you please tell us about five of your favourite lyrics?

One of the lyrics I’m most proud of is from our ode to Whacking Day ‘Whack Sabbath’. I wrote it accidentally. The line is “Serpent slaughter on a scale you’ve never seen”.

Because it’s an alliteration and also includes a pun (scale). But in general my favourite lyric that is floating around in my head currently is by Jim Lawrie and it’s something like “Give up hope being recognised at 6.15 on the Hurstbridge Line”. Just really simple lines like that that manage to deliver a real punch. If Jim Lawrie could whack snakes with his lyrics he’d surely be the king of Whacking Day. *For the other 3 just refer to Bob Dylan.

‘Wouldn’t that be amazing?’ then somebody ran with the idea and got in touch with the Bing Crosby family and estate and then it went from there. Eventually after about three months we’d got his vocal and merged it with mine – it worked out amazing. It’s one of those things you think are never going to happen, but it did and it’s just brilliant,” he says.

Damien Leith and the Black Velvet band will be performing at the National Celtic festival over the

Queen’s Birthday long weekend along with the likes of Irishman Brian Kennedy, Scottish duo The Duplets and other Scottish acts Cheery Grove and Fèis Rois amongst so many other national and international artists.

Q&A

A band with Simpsons themed doom rock, need we say more? Originally from Portland the band will be heading to Arockalypse in Warrnambool to bring their unique sound, and a helluva lot of Simpsons references. We had a chat with Dr. Jon about how they came to singing about the popular American TV series.

Hi guys, thanks so much for chatting to us, what are you up to at the moment?

The pleasure is ours. We’re still reeling from Cherry Rock to be honest. We’ve played a hometown show since then and are currently promoting our new 7” vinyl release Now getting our set together for the upcoming Arockalypse Festival in Warrnambool.

You describe your sound as ‘Simpsons themed Doom Rock’ could you tell us a bit about how your band came about?

Nath and I have played together forever. We were always joking about starting a doom band between us.

One day we were in a bus between Launceston and Hobart playing shows with our old band Honeytrap and the name ‘Dr. Colossus’ came up… along with the idea that we could make it Simpsons themed. That was 2011.

So it took us a few years to ever act on the idea.

Can you please tell us about your song writing process and how do you decide which references make the cut?

Generally I’ll have a riff, give it to Nath and we’ll will jam on it, combine some riffs, elaborate on some then

remove some. When a song is coming together I’ll generally just grab a line or a story from whatever episode is floating around in my head. More often than not it’s been stuff from earlier episodes. In general it makes the cut if it’s memorable.

When did you first become interested in the show and roughly how much time have you spent watching since forming the band?

We watched tonnes of it growing up. I think I first became interested in it when I heard some kids at school weren’t allowed to watch it.

That’s generally an enticing thing for a kid. I guess I probably peaked watching it in late high school and bought all the seasons around then.

Since forming the band,

When&Where: Arockalypse @ The Loft, Warrnambool – June 5-7 Flick to page 54 to test your Simpsons knowledge in our one-off Simpsons quiz!

I’ve only really gone back and watched season four and six again from start to finish, but I think Nath and I will probably need to study up on it some more. We’re always getting people to quote stuff to us that we don’t even remember so we’re far from being Simpsons aficionados at present – there’s always room to improve.

What are some of your fondest memories/episodes and who are your favourite characters?

Nath’s is Moe – he can’t get enough of his Moe. Hans Moleman is by far my favourite character. I also really like Gill the salesman – the more pathetic the better. Basically anyone who tells you their favourite character is Bart is a questionable person, or they are 5. It’s the ‘outside’ or

We still wake up with hangovers and have to pack into a van and drive for hours, but it’s just so much fun – and to be getting away with it still in my fifties, well it’s just bloody ridiculous. I love it!”

Damien Leith Written by Abbey King

You will remember Damien Leith as the Irish lad that burst onto the scene back in 2006 after winning the fourth season of Australian Idol.

He has since had an incredible career that boasts seven studio albums and countless national tours. I spoke with Damien in the lead up to his appearance at this years National Celtic Festival in Portarlington.

“It’s actually my first time to this one. I’ve done lots and lots of Celtic events over the years but this is my first time to Portarlington, so I’m very excited as it’s a great way for meeting lots of new people and having a really great weekend,” he says.

Damien’s show, The Parting Glass – An Irish Show ,goes above and beyond a regular musical performance, as it combines elements of both play and musical performance all set in an Irish setting, Damien tells a story of intense emotion, while retaining that famous Irish sense of humour. The show has had great success at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival as well as in Sydney, Melbourne and most recently Brisbane, where he and the band received a standing ovation.

“It’s an Irish show, it’s set in an Irish pub, it’s about a father and son who haven’t seen each other in about five years and in that time a lot of things have happened: the son went to Australia, so they’ve got a lot to catch up on a lot of things they need to talk about. A lot of it is done in a very funny sort of way, but at the same time there’s

a band playing great Irish songs. It’s kind of like an Irish experience rather than just an Irish concert,” Damien says.

Many of the songs in the show are taken from his latest album, Songs From Ireland. The album was his first since resigning with Sony in 2014 and debuted at #11 on the Australian charts.

It’s a compilation of his all time favourite Irish tunes and picking which songs made the cut, proved to be a tough ask for the Dublin native.

“In the end, I ended up picking songs that, if someone asked me to sing Irish songs at a party or anything like that, these are the songs that I would sing. These are a collection of my really favourite songs. More classic type tunes than some of the more modern

When&Where: National Celtic Festival, Portarlington – June 5-8

ones – it suits my style better and I got to record it in Ireland,” he says.

Most impressively Leith managed to do a duet with the legendary Bing Crosby on the track ‘Galway Bay’ an incredible feat considering Bing died back in 1997 at the age of 78. To say Damien was a huge fan of the singer would be an understatement and this song quite easily became his favourite on the album.

“It was just one of those crazy ideas where you go,

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Film Reviews

Mad Max: Fury Road The important thing to keep in mind with Mad Max: Fury Road is that while it does what it does really well – it’s easily the best action film of the last few years, and you’d be struggling to find a better one this century – it only does a very limited amount of things. It’s not like you’re not warned either: right from the first scene we’re told that Max (Tom Hardy) is a loner in a brutal, terrifying world where all but the most basic of human emotions have been stripped away.

Films reviewed by Anthony Morris

If you’re expecting comedy, or intricate plotting, or budding romance, or any of the other things we’ve grown to expect in what passes for action film-making as Hollywood tries to ensure there’s something for everyone in their hugely expensive blockbusters, you’ve come to the wrong barren wasteland. This purity of purpose – after the first 20 minutes or so of story the film boils down to one-armed warrior woman Furiosa (Charlize Theron) driving a truck away from various crazed maniacs while Max helps himself by helping

her – is the kind of thing that’s extremely impressive in 2015: who knew you could stage a big budget spectacle that felt like an actual film, not a series of computer-generated explosions? That probably goes some way towards explaining a lot of the rave reviews the film’s been getting too. If you’re even remotely tired of the way most big deal Hollywood productions feel kind of bland around the edges (even Fast & Furious 7 got by on a handful of cool moments rather than actually being cool from go to whoa), then this most definitely feels like a blast of fresh air.

Once you go past the way this is fundamentally better made than every other action film in recent memory, you’re still left with a film that is really not much more than a 100 minute car chase (of varying speeds, mind you – director George Miller knows how to change up the pace to keep things thrilling) with a few snippets of plot at the beginning and end. It’s an awesome car chase, mind you, but that’s all it is. So it’s important at this stage, when the movie’s been out for a fortnight and the only people who haven’t seen it are the people who most likely weren’t going to bother but have heard at least some of the rave reviews out there, to make that point really clear: if you like what you’ve seen in the trailers, you should drive extremely quickly to the nearest cinema showing what will almost certainly be the best film you’ll see all year. But if you’re not interested in car chases, non-stop action, and a lot of maniacs going berserk, then Mad Max: Fury Road is not interested in you.

Woman in Gold

Tomorrowland Once upon a time, the future was a bright and shiny place to look forward to. So what went wrong? That’s the question behind Tomorrowland, which manages to fall somewhere between the The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean when it comes to Disney’s theme park-based movie output. Back in 1964, a young boy took his homemade jetpack to the World’s Fair in the hope of impressing some judges and winning $50. Instead, thanks to Athena (Raffey Cassidy), he was given a badge that opened a door to a fantastic world of scientific optimism. Strangely, when we jump forward to the present day, it’s… well, the present day: we have a bunch of cool stuff, but nothing like the bright and shining future we were promised. And for teenager Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), that’s just not good enough. She spends her days frustrated at a school that only seems to teach despair and her nights sabotaging the destruction of the launch gantries at Cape Canaveral (where her dad works) – until one night she

discovers a strange badge she’s never seen before, a badge that holds out the promise of a brave new world…

Not to give away too much of the mystery that follows, but it does involve a cranky inventor (George Clooney), a mysteriously ageless Athena, and a super-scientific conspiracy more than a century old that seems pretty much lifted whole out of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. Director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) has made a fun mystery thriller for kids that has a bunch of exciting visuals, a great sense of wonder, a story that wobbles a bit and drags out the various plot reveals for way too long, and a bunch of core ideas that are actually kind of dodgy.

It’s a film that says that not only are some people more special than others, but that those special people should get special treatment, which sounds great until you ask who gets to decide who gets to be special (here it’s robots). But if you can overlook that stuff, this has enough big screen spectacle – and a winning double act in cranky Clooney and perky Cassidy – to make for a fun, if sometimes draining, funpark ride.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: an older lady (played by a serious British actor) teams up with a younger (but not that young) guy (played by an actor better known for comedy work) to travel to a faraway land in a quest to right a wrong from the past that has haunted her – and a nation – all her life. So yeah, if you really enjoyed Philomena there’s a pretty strong chance you’ll like Woman in Gold, as structure wise they’re basically the same film – even though they’re both based on completely different true stories.

This one involves Austrian Jew turned LA shop-owner Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), who fled her homeland after the arrival of the

t h e w rap

Pitch Perfect 2

Spy Bradley Fine (Jude Law) is the CIA’s top agent, thanks in large part to his adoring and super-competent desk-bound handler back at CIA HQ, Susan (Melissa McCarthy).

So when Fine’s mission to recover a stolen nuclear bomb being secretly sold by Raina Boyanov (Rose Byrne) goes wrong, Susan’s the first to put her hand up to finish the mission.

As Raina somehow knows the identities of all the CIA’s field agents, it turns out that Susan is the best woman for the job… even though the job rapidly turns out to involve car chases, dangling from helicopters, and belting people with frypans. This is director Paul Feig’s third team-up with McCarthy (after Bridesmaids and The Heat) and he presents the spy world (especially the fights, which are surprisingly

nasty and bloody) relatively straight in a Bond-like fashion.

It’s a smart move, as it allows the consistently hilarious McCarthy to first react against its absurdities as the mild-mannered Susan, then take advantage of them when Susan eventually goes undercover as Raina’s brutal and foul-mouthed bodyguard.

The entire supporting cast (including UK imports Miranda Hart and an insanely lecherous Peter Serafinowicz) hits it out of the park, but it’s Jason Statham’s insane parody of his action movie persona (“I once sewed this arm back on using this other arm”) that’s the comedy highlight. Not that there’s any flat spots here: this is both rapid-fire funny and satisfyingly action-packed, and in a year of female-led comedies this one is going to be very hard to top.

Nazis in the ‘30s, leaving behind everything she owned. It turns out that amongst her possessions may very well have been (thanks to the deaths of everyone left behind) a famous Klimt painting of her aunt known as the Woman in Gold – an Austrian national treasure on display in the state museum.

Having no love for the Austrians (her memories largely involve how quickly they sided with the Nazis), she’d like it back, and lawyer Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Renyolds) is… well, not the ideal man to help her (his career is currently on the skids), but he’s willing to give it a shot.

It’s a fairly plodding tale that largely plays out in various court rooms, padded out with lengthy flashbacks detailing her connection

to her aunt, the painting and the rise of the Nazis (featuring Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany as young Maria). Both leads are strong and have good chemistry together, which does keep things watch-able so long as you’re able to overlook the fact this is a movie about a woman wanting to take a painting out of a national gallery to keep for herself (which is a situation that would make pretty much every national gallery in the world a little uncomfortable, even if in the specific case here she’s firmly in the right).

Despite a surprisingly forthright “never forgive, never forget” attitude, this remains largely forgettable – aside from the painting itself, which gets numerous close-ups and is clearly worth all the attention.

people from the world outside, he might also be someone they need rescuing from.

This low-key slow-burn film (made by Australian writer-director Ariel Kleiman, who is definitely a name to watch) gets a lot of mileage out of Cassel’s slightly too-charming performance and the gradual

revelation of the sinister undertones to his child-friendly community.

But a slow-burn has to catch fire eventually and this never really takes hold. Part of the problem is that the film wavers between being the story of what Gregori is up to and being the story of Alexander’s growing estrangement from Gregori; clearly the idea is that we’ll come to fear for the boy once we realise just how far the man is willing to go, but both sides of the story are so (purposely) understated the tension required to make this more than just a well-crafted exercise in style never materialises. It doesn’t help that one major subplot ends ambiguously when there’s only one (of two) possible outcomes that create drama; why leave a question unanswered when the mystery makes your film less interesting?

Partisan In an un-named city, Gregori (Vincent Cassel) roams the streets salvaging debris and trash – the human kind too. We see him visiting a hospital and charming his way to the bedside of a new mother who’s clearly alone in the world. Jump forward a decade and Gregori has created a whole community out of the scraps he’s collected: children play while their mothers watch and clean house in a strange, sealed off corner of the city (with it’s courtyard and high walls, it feels a little like an abandoned zoo enclosure). Gregori is father and teacher to the children, with 11-year-old Alexander ( Jeremy Chabriel) the oldest and sharpest pupil. But it gradually becomes clear that while Gregori has rescued these

FIGMENT GEELONG - Sat 30 May DIOR & I – 3pm / ADVANCED STYLE – 5pm / FINDING VIVIAN MAIER – 7pm BANKSY DOES NEW YORK – 9pm / *After party ALL TIX $15 w/ Drinks Specials & Giveaways LOVE IS STRANGE May 31 – 6.30pm / June 05 – 7pm / June 13 – 2.30pm LEVIATHAN Russian w/ English subs May 31 – 8.30pm / June 7 – 3pm / June 13 – 7pm SHAUN THE SHEEP May 31 – 2pm / June 6 – 12pm / June 8 – 1pm / June 14 – 1pm DIOR & I May 28 – 5.45pm / May 30 – 3pm / June 7 – 1pm / June 8 – 3pm / June 14 – 5.30pm CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA May 31 – 4pm / June 1 – 7.30pm / June 6 – 6pm / June 7 – 8pm IT FOLLOWS May 29 – 9.15pm / June 3 – 7.30pm / June 6 – 8.30pm / June 14 – 7.30pm KUMIKO May 29 – 7pm / June 2 – 7.30pm / June 7 – 6pm / June 9 – 7pm / June 11 – 7.30pm BANKSY DOES NEW YORK May 28 – 8pm / May 30 – 9pm / June 5 – 9pm / June 6 – 4pm / June 9 – 9.15pm

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Tickets: $10 concession $12 adult Licensed Candy Bar More movie times and info available online pivotcinema.com.au The Ukranian Community Hall, 57 Pakington St, Geelong West

Everyone’s back, only this time there isn’t really all that much point to their somewhat aimless and meandering adventures, making this a lot less engaging than the first film – unless you just want to hang out with the characters for 100 minutes doing not much.

A Royal Night Out It’s VE Day 1945, and London is ready to party – including the two young royal Princesses, who sneak out for a night on the town.

This isn’t as lightweight as it could have been, but don’t expect a hard-hitting history lesson either.

Poltergeist This remake of the horror classic is, like pretty much all horror remakes, shorter and less subtle. Though there’s the occasionally mildly creepy moment to remind you why the first film is still considered worth a look.

Unfriended Built around a gimmick – the entire movie is one unbroken look at one character’s computer screen, complete with video chat windows, text messaging and online searches – that actually works really well, this is still basically just a typical teen slasher. But that gimmick’s still really well done.

Boychoir There’s a choir, it’s full of boys – what more do you need to know? Okay, there’s a troubled teen who’s challenged by a stern choirmaster (Dustin Hoffman) to find his full potential, and if that sounds a bit sappy to you there’s a good chance you’re right.

Avengers: Age of Ultron Pretty much everyone from all the Marvel movies are back (not their girlfriends though) in this big screen attempt to make a major blockbuster feel like part of a seemingly endless television series. James Spader as the killer robot is kind of fun though.

The Longest Ride It’s Nicholas Sparks time once again, this time what’s keeping his young lovers apart is that one loves fine art and the other is a professional rodeo rider.

Also, in the past a guy gets his balls shot off.

Cinderella Disney have remade the classic with one eye on future sales, so there’s no fast-dating comedy or overly wonky CGI that’ll make this perfectly entertaining but hardly special film seem out of style in a decade’s time.

Music Reviews

Courtney Barnett The Forum, Melb – May 16 Supports: Teeth & Tongue, The Finks

Lead singer from Teeth & Tongue, Jess Cornelius, set the scene so perfectly when she said: “Where else can you see naked statues and listen to rock music?” as she looked around the hugely responsive crowd at The Forum in Melbourne.

It’s true that The Forum is one of the more unique venues in Melbourne, but really, would you expect anything less from the city? I don’t know what it is about that venue, but it seems to transport me back to the ‘90s and what gigging must have been like (alas, I was a ‘90s kid, but not a ‘90s gigging kid).

I’ve long been aware of the sounds of Melbourne altpop outfit Teeth & Tongue, and I’m ashamed to admit - especially after their performance at The Forum – that I’ve had a love hate relationship with their music. It’s often hit and miss, with some tracks failing to grab my attention and others having it in full. Though with all the criticisms for their hard copy releases, there aren’t any in their live performance. Their whole set was engaging, with witty banter in between tracks, fluid dance moves from Jess and – what I love most – experimentation in stepping away from the exact sound of their recorded music.

The night turned out to be one of surprises as when Courtney Barnett took to the stage I’m sure I was left with my mouth slightly open in shock. I’d heard word that Courtney’s live performance was quite true to her music, in that it was her on stage talk-singing and strumming away at her guitar, those whispers couldn’t have been more wrong.

With the Courtney Barnetts giving her a fuller sound, Courtney completely rocked out – I honestly didn’t know she had it in her. There was screaming, guttural howling and much head banging to be had. She made her way through all the favourites – new and old, but mostly new – to a full crowd. ‘Depreston’, ‘Small Poppies’ and ‘Pedestrian at Best’ were of course on the set list. If anything that’s come from this gig, is that don’t always really on bands sounding the same as their releases. While I’ve realised this in the many gigs I’ve been to, none have proven it so abruptly as this one.

Reviewed by Amanda Sherring

DEGENERATE

LOST IN NEW YORK

Independent

Create/Control Records

I can honestly say that Earth Caller have proven something to me.

Before now, I wouldn’t have thought that combining hardcore and rap influences could even come close to producing an appealing sound – but I can assure you that the Melbourne-based four piece have changed my mind.

With guitars lower than a gangsta’s pants, thundering drums and a highly aggressive sound, Earth Caller’s debut album has absolutely blasted its way onto the music scene. Vocalist Josh Collard spends most of the album rapping/half shouting, and I found it to be a lot more appealing than his heavy vocals; there’s a lot more energy to that style, and every line seems to be torn from somewhere deep inside.

While the album doesn’t add anything particularly innovative to the music scene, it’s an incredibly solid debut effort – there isn’t a single song that I could class as inferior, and the band has proven themselves to be very capable songwriters. Drummer Luke Webber absolutely shines throughout the album; he switches between slower rap-like beats to a frenetic, doublekick heavy pace effortlessly, and provides a fantastic anchor for the guitar melodies and Collard’s vocals.

Degenerate is an aggressive, heavy and passionate debut effort, and while it doesn’t really innovate, it’s one of the best debut albums that I’ve heard in a while. Earth Caller have proven their chops. Keep an eye on these lads – I’m definitely interested in what they’ll do next.

Reviewed by Alastair McGibbon

I can sympathise with the Penguin Prison guys about being lost in New York, it’s a beautiful yet overwhelming city that you can easily find yourself losing track in. Lost In New York is said to explore “the vintage glam of NYC’s storied disco heyday, all the way through to the bohemian rhapsody of modern Brooklyn”.

‘Try to Lose’ and ‘Show Me the Way’ definitely harness that disco vibe, whether it’s that of the New York City times I’m not sure, but it’s upbeat enough for anyone to appreciate. The beats are relatively simple and aren’t overcomplicated with the variety of sound effects at our fingertips these days. Instead Christopher Glover’s vocals come to the forefront and you can appreciate the song for what it is.

My one qualm is that as ‘Never Gets Old’ follows on from the first two tracks it seems to be a bit of a re-hash of an already used sound. Though it’s made up for with the radio-worthy track ‘Calling Out’ that we’ve all heard on triple j.

With ‘Stop Moving’ so comes a little bit of the edgier ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ sound. Glover’s voice is darker and there’s even a guitar solo thrown in. Though as favourites go, ‘Laughing At the Floor’ is the frontrunner for this album.

There’s certainly more of the old school disco rather than the Bohemian Rhapsody mentioned earlier, but that isn’t at all a bad thing, as the earlier genre is much more suited to Penguin Prison’s sound. Pick this one up if you like a boogie.

Reviewed by Amanda Sherring

we all like something we can sing-a-long to no matter what state we’re in.

The guitar is clearly the hero in Harts’ sound and it’s proven further in second track ‘When A Man’s A Fool’. Each time the guitar takes over is like a slap to the face,

On the surface the styles seem disparate and clashing, but when you actually sit down and listen through the album, it blends really, really well. With a twangy, thudding bass line underpinning upbeat, sunny melodies, there’s a rustic, country feel to Stokes’ music – a rather unexpected vibe, but an

enjoyable one nonetheless.

There are a few songs that outshine the rest – track five, ‘Our Lives Our Time’ is particularly enjoyable – and some songs sound like they could’ve been written in the ‘60s and still be in circulation today.

The Horse Comanche has soft-rock ballads, twangy country tracks and upbeat acoustic pop tracks not unlike Jack Johnson’s earlier work.

While Stokes utilises a wide range of instruments across the album, the main focus of Stokes’ sound comes from the ever-present acoustic guitar that acts as an anchor for each and every track. The Horse Comanche strikes me as one of those slow-burn albums; slow to build up, and slow to grow on you. The more you listen to it, the more you pick up on, and the more you enjoy it.

Reviewed by Alastair McGibbon

BREAKTHROUGH EP Pavement Records/Shock

Chadwick Stokes THE HORSE COMANCHE Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl Records

While I must confess that before being assigned this review I had never heard of Chadwick Stokes, I am surprised that his work has never appeared on my musical radar before now.

Blending a form of music reminiscent of John Butler and his ever-changing trio with a softer, acoustic guitar-driven sound a la Vance Joy’s ballads, Stokes weaves an album with a variety of sounds.

Penguin Prison

overpowering, all encompassing and sexy as all hell – just what you want in the funk rock genre.

If you think the guitar has shown off as much as it can, think again, ‘Streets’ takes it up even further than before. It’s probably the highlight on the EP for me, for no real specific reason other than it being a the kind of number that is the backing to a really cool action scene in a movie.

You know the kind where girls kick arse, or something of the sort. On second thought, make that a tie between ‘Streets’ and ‘Seven Eight’.

Harts have clearly worked out their sound which is quite rare for such an early release. It’s even more surprising to think that this is all the result of one man: Darren Harts. He must get all the ladies. Guys, Harts could ceratinly teach you a thing or two.

Reviewed by Amanda Sherring

Harts

Harts have just sold out their Ding Dong Melbourne shows, and it’s hardly surprising given the full on track he’s released in ‘Breakthrough’.

There’s plenty of guitar riffs that just hit the spot so right, that are interjected at the perfect times with Darren Hart’s raspy, cooly disinterested vocals. What makes it even more of a hit is the unbelievably simple lyrics, lets be honest,

Earth Caller

Using many different samples mashed up to create one song, McLeod brings his own sound to this EP. Its electronic grooves are hypnotic and infectious and set to start any party. I don’t mean that to say that these tunes will make you fall asleep, it will

definitely relax you however and ‘Moonlight Disco’ the second track from the record could quite easily find its way onto a dinner party mixtape.

Having spent some time in the Himalayas recently, McLeod is looking forward to creating something with some social responsibility and a political consciousness to it.

Whether that means we could be hearing Tony Abbott speech sampled in the next single, I don’t know. It’s nice and relaxing electronica from a local producer which you should always get behind, because music starts on a grassroots level. This is an interesting listen and one you should jump online and check out today.

Reviewed by Tex Miller

EP is truly beautiful. In opening track ‘Background Noises’ Shelley harmonises with herself to the backing of piano, strings and a steady beat. It’s the kind of anthemic classical feel that pulls at your emotions simply by being what it is.

Aside from the obvious charm in

Shelley’s voice, there’s a beauty in the content she sings of as well.

In ‘Side-lined’ she sings of the way we judge each other based on perceptions – something we’ve all been subject to. She makes many valid points, doesn’t tip tpoe around the subject but just sings it how it is: “Slaves to aesthetic this is the tune that we hum...can we remove the filter from over our hearts...If you’re not beautiful you’ll be sidelined”.

With so much passion and a clear drive for what’s right, it would be a shame to see someone with as much talent as Shelley Segal slip away.

Make sure you pick up this EP, check her out on social media and support the little guys in the music world.

Reviewed by Amanda Sherring

River Yarra RAIN DANCE EXTENDED PLAY + VISION Solitaire

Raudie McLeod, or River Yarra as he is better known, has just released his new EP entitled Raindance Extended Play and Vision. Comprising just three tracks, this album is quite diverse in both its textures and sounds. One of the main influences to the sound is from the classic track ‘Frontier Psychiatrist’

by The Avalanches.

Shelley Segal STRANGE FEELING True Music

Every now and then a musician comes along who just has it.

They have the voice, the passion, the whole package. Shelley Segal certainly has it in leaps and bounds, though chances are you haven’t found that out just yet.

Before listening to her EP Strange Feeling I’ve got to admit I was in a similar position. But, awareness is bliss and this

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Last Words

grog watch Tony “Doctor Love” Montana

So a few weekends back I was at a social gathering – I hesitate to call it a party, because that would make it sound like I actually go to parties, which would mean my weekends aren’t always spent in a drunken puddle on the floor on my bedroom – when I ran into a young woman I’d had a somewhat serious crush on a few months back (pause while long-time readers throw Forte away in disgust). Luckily for me, this crush had fizzled out in the face of my grim determination to do absolutely nothing about it, because when I met this woman it was in the street outside the house where the gathering was to take place. She ran up to me shouting my name while some guy I’d never seen before shuffled along

behind her and her lipstick was smeared all over her lower face in a fashion that suggested… ah, bugger it: she was pissed and had clearly been making out with her new guy something savage. Oddly, he hadn’t suggested she fix her make-up before going to the party, though I guess they could have been going at it right up until the second they saw me, but again, what the? Surely you’d point out to your date that the lower half of her face was looking kind of smudged? Anyway, together we three headed into the gathering, where a fun time was subsequently had by at least two of us, as I discovered when I found the third member of our group – the female one – in the kitchen looking kind of downbeat. ‘What’s up?’ I said, and kept on saying until I got an answer because I’m a nosey bastard, and eventually I got the following...

It seems this particular young lady was in a spot of bother, as she doesn’t

THE SIMPSONS TRIVIA! In honour of the interview we did with heavy metal band Dr. Colossus who sing The Simpsons themed songs, we took a trip down memory lane and pieced together a quick Simpsons quiz for you all. How much do you know about the famous American TV show?

01. Who founded the Simpsons’ town?

02. What channel is Krusty’s show on?

03. W hat animal did the Simpson’s get for their first Christmas?

know who to choose to go out with out of the five – count ‘em, five – potential suitors currently lurking around. After a quick check to make sure I’m not one of them (I’m not), we continued: it seemed that while two of the five possibles are just guys she likes – and based on those standards I should be crying into my gin every night trying to choose between the fifteen or so women I “like”, but I guess it’s different for relatively attractive girls – three are firm front-runners. Luckily for the guy she’s currently making out with in the street, he’s one of them (though from the way he’s skimmed over, I’m guessing he’s coming third), then there’s some other guy she could be with only that’d cause problems because (and I’m guessing here) he’s mates with at least one of the other guys who like her, and then there’s a guy who by the sounds of things is the one she actually likes only he’s in a relationship and has said he’s

not breaking up with his current girlfriend but that she can be his “mistress”. Which sounds like a shit deal to me, but what do I know? I’m talking to a woman who can’t choose between five different guys, none of whom are me.

The thing that really got me though was the idea that any or all of these guys were actual options.

Well, obviously the mistress guy was an option, he’d just said he had a position – or variety of positions, right lads? – available during his spare afternoons (who even has time for a mistress? I spend two and a half hours a day on the train). All the other guys were just guys who were around and she was wondering which one to throw herself at.

Whereas I, back when I still cared about human contact, had to get extremely drunk to even introduce myself to a girl I liked: the idea that a relationship began by me actually doing something to make it happen

was total insanity. Though thinking about it now, it was probably a good thing that I focused on that during this conversation and not the way I was talking to someone with some guy’s dried spit all over her chin who was actively talking about leaving the party to go swap more spit with some other guy. I don’t frown on such behaviour, mind you: I just think that you should be way more sneaky about it. If you have romantic options you’d be foolish not to exercise them. You’d be even more foolish to advertise you have options in the first place.

Not that I told her this, because good quality gossip is hard to find and there are few things in life more interesting than the tale of someone else’s romantic car crash and seriously, if you’re wandering the streets telling all and sundry that you currently have five guys in your options menu that you can’t choose between it’s pretty clear that whatever choice you make – unless you choose to kick all

of them to the curb and lay low for an extended period – you are going to be making a very poor choice indeed.

I mean, come on: when you’ve got five guys running for first place, either they’re all equally great or equally crappy. Which is more common: crap guys or great guys? I rest my case.

And that’s why as her friend I was able to give her the kind of advice she needed to hear, the kind of advice that we can – may, should – all learn to live by if we want to be happy in this life: ‘You should go out with the guy who has the most money’.

09. Who ran Bart over in his car?

10. Who was the Plow King?

11. What did Shelbyville drink in celebration for banishing the lemon tree?

12. Who said this: “Such a nice day. I think I’ll go out the window.”?

13. What season have Fox just resigned the Simpsons up for?

14. Who was the first English comedian to both write and star in an episode?

15. What is the name of Cletus’ wife?

16. What is Lisa’s IQ?

04. W ho runs the Kwik-E-Mart?

05. What is the name of Mr. Burns’ teddy bear?

06. How long was Marge in prison for when she was caught shoplifting?

17. What year did the Simpsons writers go on strike?

18. What sector of the nuclear power plant does Homer work in?

07. W ho are Lisa’s favourite cartoon characters?

19. What is the name of Patty and Selma’s pet iguana?

08. What is Sideshow Bob’s middle name?

20. How did Bart get kicked out of heaven?

Challenge your friends! Who is the biggest Simpsons fan?

Dr. Colossus got an impressive 18/20!

Check your answers bellow and share your score with us on Facebook or Instagram!! #fortemag

1. Jebadiah Springfield / 2. Channel 6 / 3. A Dog / 4. Apu / 5. Bobo / 6. 20 days / 7. Happy Little Elves / 8. Underdunk / 9. Mr. Burns / 10. Barney / 11. Turnip Juice / 12. Dr Nick / 13. 28 / 14. Ricky Gervais / 15. Brandine / 16. 156 / 17. 2007 / 18. 7G / 19. Jub-Jub / 20. Spit over the side of the escalator

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Rhythm Section Presents - Acoustic Blues Sensation

Lloyd Spiegel 25th Anniversary Tour “a guitarist almost without peer… Spiegel deconstructs how the blues guitar is supposed to operate, makes sweet love to it, then kicks it out the back door.”

Australian Guitar Magazine

Dates Friday 12th June 2015 The Goldmines Hotel, Bendigo 8:00pm, $15 - Tickets at door Saturday 13th June 2015 Main Bar, Ballarat 8:30pm, $15 - Tickets at Door Sunday 14th June 2015 The Old Hepburn Hotel Hepburn Springs 5:00pm, $20 - Tickets at Door

www.lloydspiegel.com

New album “Double Live Set” available 1 July 2015

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