Forte #618

ISSUE #618 ball ar at | bell arine | Bendigo | ca stlemaine | geelong | surf coa st | warrnambool |

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KING PARROT pg.21 LIVE @ The Barwon Club, Geelong - August 13, Pelly Bar, Ballarat - August 14 & The Tote, Collingwood - August 16

chris russell

Gang of YouthS pg.31

pg.44

geoff achison

pg.36

the bellrays

pg.22

darryn lyons

pg.34

ALSO FEATURING: Sol Nation, Amber Lawrence, Holy, Holy, Feirce Mild, I OH YOU, White Bleaches 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

forte issue #618 thursday 23 JUly 2015

Ahhhh Splendour, I miss you and your muddy glory already.

There’s nothing like dancing along to Peking Duk while being firmly fused into the ground below by the thick ankle deep mud. But all in all, it was an incredible festival and you can read up on what I thought over on page 54.

are often heralded as one of the hardest working bands in their genre, so we couldn’t be happier they’re our cover stars. Further in our local cover is taken up by the Gang of Youths boys, who with a bit of attitude, some sass, and lots of humour delivered a pretty stellar interview with our writer Jariah, you can read it on page 31.

This issue a little less Splendourrelated we welcome King Parrot to grace our cover. They’ve come a long way in the industry and

Aside from the cover stars, we made some time to chat with the likes of Sol Nation, The Bellrays, Holy Holy, Amber Lawrence,

tag us on instagram!

I OH YOU DJs and more.

Despite being winter there’s a lot going on in regional Vic and you can keep up with it all on page 19, though we have to give an honourable mention to our sister publication PRJKTR that launches its second issue at Analogue Academy in Geelong on August 8 at 6pm. Get down and support them, they are a top team and right-old magazine champs!!

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know!

in the

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

Good Things Come in Threes HBO has officially signed up Game of Thrones for another three seasons, the cliff hangers, shocking scenes and favourite characters brutally murdered aren’t over yet.

Though the word is that seven series would be the life of the story (with three it brings the total to eight). Hmmm…

Chet Faker Visits the Banks There’s no denying that Chet Faker is one of Australia’s most successful musicians recently on a worldwide scale, and proving his respected status in the industry he’s recently teamed up with Banks to give a new spin on his track '1998'. The beat is essentially the same, as are Faker’s vocals, however Banks comes in and responds to each of Faker’s moments. All we can say is, why did you two not pair up earlier?!

Sneaky Cranston

That’s a Big Line Up So you thought BIGSOUND was already big? How about now with 100 artists rounding up the line up?

A Breach Of Silence, Angie, Ann Vriend, Anthonie Tonnon, Avaberée, Avalanche City, Awaken I Am, BANFF, Ben Abraham , Ben Wright Smith, BUOY, Catlips, Chaos Divine, Charles Murdoch, cln, Crepes, DARTS, Dorsal Fins, Drawcard, Dumbsaint, Eart, Caller, Fait, Fanny Lumsden, Food Court, Fraser A. Gorman, Germein Sisters, Green Buzzard, GRRL PAL, Guards of May, Hadal Maw, Halcyon Drive, Harts, Hau Latukefu, Hellions, Hey Geronimo, Hockey Dad, Hoodlem, HOWQUA, I Know Leopard, Immigrant Union, In Death..., Jericco, Jill Beth, JOY., Kween G, Le Pie, Life is Better Blonde, Luke Daniel Peacock, Mangelwurzel, Marksman Lloyd, Mathas, Mesa Cosa, Mike Waters, Milwaukee Banks, Mojo Juju, Morning Harvey, Moses Gunn Collective, New Venusians, NGAIIRE, Null, Olympia, Paddy McHugh, Perch Creek, Philly, Planète, Polish Club, Porsches, R.W. Grace, Robbie Miller, Sahara Beck, Set Mo, Sex On Toast (pictured), Shining Bird, Shocking Pinks, Skegss, Suiix, Tash Sultana, The Belligerents, The Goon Sax, The Lulu Raes, The Ocean Party, The Pretty Littles, The Rumjacks, Tijuana Cartel, Tiki Taane, Tiny Little Houses, Tired Lion, Totally Mild, URTEKK, Us The Band, Wallace, Winterbourne, Witchgrinder, Woodes, Woodlock, World Champion and Worldlines. [Photo by Sara Tansy Photography]

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If you’re having some serious post-Breaking Bad depression, Brian Cranston may have just given you an alternative to waste your life away to. Brain co-created a new show called Sneaky Pete in which he plays a con artist who steals his cellmate’s identity when released from prison. It premieres in the US on August 7 with no word for us Aussies, but we likey, we likey very much!

Full Disclosure

How Beautiful

Positive/Negative Frank

Florence may have graced us Aussie’s with her presence when she came down recently for Splendour and the side shows, but good news for those of you who missed out. Florence and the Machine are coming back.

She’ll play the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on November 10, tickets on sale now.

Out tomorrow through Xtra Mile Recordings is Frank Turner’s sixth studio album, Positive Songs for Negative People. In it Frank took another new turn and captured the live sound in the album.

“When a band makes a debut record, there’s a freshness and excitement to it that bands often lose as time goes by,” he says. “I wanted to try and make a record with that young, exciting feel.”

A few years back Sam Smith did a house track ‘Latch’ collaboration with Disclosure that launched his career and looks like they’ve paired up again for a second take.

This time around the threesome have banded together for ‘Omen’, which is set to be the second single from Disclosure’s soon to be released album Caracal. Be sure to check it out.

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

Get Some of THIS THAT It may be at the Newcastle Foreshore, but for those who just came back from Splendour, you’ll be wanting to cross the border again for THIS THAT as the festival has just announced its line up and it’s a killer! Playing on October 31 will be; Rüfüs (pictured), Birds of Tokyo, Sticky Fingers, The Kite String Tangle, Baauer, The Jungle Giants, Carmada, Tkay Maidza, Slumberjack, Asta, Kilter, Atlas Bound, Stephane 1993, Ivan Ooze and a triple j Unearthed Winner.

Tickets are available at 9am on August 6 on the website.

National Indigenous Music Awards Round-up The National Indigenous Music Awards have just been and gone and it’s time to have a look at the results. Taking artist of the year were Jessica Mauboy and Dan Sultan, Briggs’ Sheplife won best album of the year, Philly got best new talent and Thelma Plum won song of the year for her track ‘How Much Does Your Love Cost?’. Suss out the rest online.

Brokeback Mountain Remembers Heath This year marks the 10th anniversary of Brokeback Mountain and to celebrate, cast and crew of the film did a thorough interview on the film and its creation with OUT Magazine. In the magazine screenwriter Diana Ossana, Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal and others give an insight and

tribute to Heath Ledger who unfortunately was unable to celebrate the film’s anniversary. Heath passed away in 2008.

had her British sense of humour misunderstood and was told to have a nap or a Red Bull.

went viral overnight and if you haven’t already watched it what are you doing??

Simply Awkward

Learn to Fly Via Italy

Ed Sheeran the Slasher

In what seems to be the time for awkward TV interviews (lets not even start about what happened to Amy Schumer), Cara Delevingne was subject to another rude interview where she was referred to as ‘Carla’,

In the best attempt to convince a musician to come to their town ever (this beats all those whiny comments on Facebook), 1,000 Italian Foo Fighters fans banded together in a field and played ‘Learn to Fly’. The clip

Calm down, we mean it in the most respectable sense! Ed Sheeran has just been cast for a role in The Bastard Executioner, making him a musician/actor.

Ed is set to play Sir Cormac and recording has already begun.

10 Years of the Beards Just how long can a beard get in 10 years?

Go and see the Beards play live and you’ll have yourself an answer.

They play the Corner Hotel on October 8 in Melbourne, time to start beard analysing…

#REALMUSIC 1D fans were beside themselves when Zayn Malik left the team with no real thorough

explanation. But it all just became clear as the man himself has just signed a new record deal with RCA (artists on its roster include Alicia Keys, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake and more) and broke the news view Twitter. “I guess I never explained why I left, it was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who I really am! #realmusic #RCA!!”

LIVE MUSIC. COMFORT FOOD. WARM FIRE. COLD BEER. DO IT.

Face the Music Melbourne’s contemporary music summit is back on November 13 and 14 this year and tickets are officially on sale. Last year saw the music community discuss new ideas, investigate the evolution of music and media technologies, the chance to learn from international experts and more. Visit facethemusic.org.au for more information.

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T H E THURSDAY AUGUST 6TH BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Trivia Night from 7:30pm BEAVS BAR: Andy Forster BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6 BIRD ROCK: Mexican Night; Mi Casa Su Casa, Taqueria and Tequila EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night EUREKA HOTEL: Eureka Thursdays with local DJs GPAC: Mother LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard MARTIANS CAFE: $25 International Night including drink MAX HOTEL: Parmi night, Trivia Night OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Shane Nicholson PISTOL PETES: Jessey Jackson THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 ST JAMES: Live DJs

FRIDAY AUGUST 7TH BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Rosie, Zara BARWON CLUB: Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Happy Hour 5-7pm, Meat Raffle & Members Draw BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan BELMONT HOTEL: Zane Carroll BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6 BENDIGO WRITERS FESTIVAL BIRD ROCK: It’s Friday B!tches BLACK HATT: Kay and the Blue Dogs CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with live entertainment and DJ THE EASTERN: Heads of Charm, SWHAT, Mourning

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EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday EUREKA HOTEL: Live DJs GPAC: And Then He Kissed Me, Mother THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: DJ Merv Mustard HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with live DJs KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): Athenas Wake THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Immigrant Union THE LORD NELSON: Happy Hour 5pm-7pm MAX HOTEL: Bangstrum Lads ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Funk Night!

PISTOL PETES: Brian fraser ST JAMES: Live DJs SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC (Ballarat): Burke Brothers WORKERS CLUB (GEELONG): James Reyne

SATURDAY AUGUST 8TH BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Dolphy’s Albatross BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan BELMONT HOTEL: Matt Baird BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6 BENDIGO WRITERS FESTIVAL BLACK HATT: Bamboozle and Trio Manipulato CAULFIELD RACECOURSE: MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW THE EASTERN: Behold the Defiant, Into Ruin, Manipulator, Maleficium EDGE: Live Music and DJ EUREKA: $5 Night GATEWAY HOTEL: Carter & Carter, Jetty

Road, Roo Arcus GPAC: Tom Burlinson, Mother THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Abe Anderson HOMEHOUSE: Travlos, Steve Camp, Keith Evans, Mawry, Marcus Pearsons, James Rogers THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Dave Burgess Band MAX HOTEL: Hey Charger ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Michelle Parsons PISTOL PETE’S: Mr Black & Blues SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music ST JAMES: Live DJs: House, Hip Hop, RnB

SUNDAY AUGUST 9TH BARWON CLUB: Test Pilot Molly BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6 BENDIGO WRITERS FESTIVAL BIRD ROCK: Sunday Sessions $9 Pizzas CAULFIELD RACECOURSE: MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW CITY QUARTER: Perfect Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm THE EASTERN: Hobo Magic, Elvis, Drifter EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Jazz from 3-6pm and Parmi Night GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery lunch GROVEDALE HOTEL: Levi Anderson ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music ST JAMES: Live Music & DJs THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17 SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC (Ballarat): Ari

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MONDAY AUGUST 10TH BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6 ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night CHERRY BAR: Jerry Jam Mondays GEELONG RSL: Members Draw, over $3000 in prizes to be won!

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

TUESDAY AUGUST 11TH BENDED: Two Choice Tuesdays ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Parmi night

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12TH BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Karaoke BARWON CLUB: The Bellrays THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Karaoke BENDED: Parmi Paradise & pub Trivia BIRD ROCK: Drinks Specials, Ping Pong Challenge ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Trivia Night from 8pm.

THE EASTERN: Warm up Wednesday 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 MAX HOTEL: Lukey’s Open Mic Night, $10 Burger night ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music OLD HEPBURN HOTEL

(Hepburn Springs): Roast night

THURSDAY AUGUST 13TH BARWON CLUB: King Parrot BEAVS BAR: Andy Forster BIRD ROCK: Mexican Night; Mi Casa Su Casa, Taqueria and Tequila EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night EUREKA HOTEL: Eureka Thursdays with local DJs KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): The Bellrays LORD OF THE ISLES: Trivia in the courtyard MARTIANS CAFE: $25 International Night including drink MAX HOTEL: Parmi night, Trivia night ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music PISTOL PETE’S: LIVE MUSIC THURSDAYS: Georgia Rodgers THE SPHINX HOTEL: Schnitzel Night from $13 ST JAMES: Live DJs, SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC (Ballarat): Duo Agogo

FRIDAY AUGUST 14TH BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Neil Gibson BARWON CLUB: The Sleepless BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Happy Hour 5-7pm, Meat Raffle & Members Draw BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan BELMONT HOTEL: Al Vick BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6 BIRD ROCK: It’s Friday B!tches BLACK HATT: Cool Change CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with live entertainment and DJ

c alen d ar THE EASTERN: Hugo Race, The True Spirit, Matt Malone EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT AND CASTLE: Thank Guinness It’s Friday EUREKA HOTEL: $5 Night, Live DJS THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Luke Hindson HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with DJs KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): Northeast Party House THE LORD NELSON: Happy Hour 5pm-7pm MARTIANS CAFE: The Long & Short Of It MAX HOTEL: Trojan ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music PISTOL PETES: Dog Gone South SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC (Ballarat): Jordie Lane WORKERS CLUB (GEELONG): Insygnia

SATURDAY AUGUST 15TH BABUSHKA BAR: Mix and Match Variety Show BARWON CLUB: Northeast Party House BEAVS BAR: Aaron Butters BELMONT HOTEL: Levi Anderson BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6 BLACK HATT: $2 Peeps BRIDGE HOTEL (Castlemaine): Hugo Race and the True Spirit THE EASTERN: Truly Holy, The Indian Skies, Tsugnarly EDGE: Live Music and DJ EUREKA: $5 Night, Bombs Away THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Dear Ivy HOMEHOUSE: TWhite, Mawry, Marcus pearsons, Keith Evans, Steve Camp, James Rogers

KAROVA LOUNGE (Ballarat): King Parrot LEISURETIME CENTRE (Norlane): Roller Derby Battle for the Bay from 11.30am MAX HOTEL: After Five MEREDITH MEMORIAL HALL: Battle of the Bands MUSICMAN MEGASTORE: Fierce Mild ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music PISTOL PETE’S: Neil Gibson SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music ST JAMES: Live DJs: House, Hip Hop, RnB SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC (Ballarat): The Stetson Family

SUNDAY AUGUST 16TH BARWON CLUB: Josh Seymour BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6 BIRD ROCK: Sunday Sessions $9 Pizzas CITY QUARTER: Perfect Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: Live Jazz from 3-6pm and Parmi Night GEELONG RSL: $13 Carvery lunch THE GROVEDALE HOTEL: Levi Anderson THE LORD NELSON: Sunday Funday Live Music ODYSSEYTAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: The Stetson Family SAINTS & SAILORS (Portarlington): Live Music THE SPHINX HOTEL: Carvery from $17

MONDAY AUGUST 17TH BARWON CLUB: $10 Parmis BENDED: Happy Hour 4-6, Steak night CHERRY BAR: Cherry

Jam Mondays ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Members Draw, over $3000 in prizes to be won!

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

TUESDAY AUGUST 18TH BENDED: Two Choice Tuesdays COURTHOUSE ARTS: Pep!Talk ELEPHANT & CASTLE: $20 Steak & Drink night GEELONG RSL: Steak Night $13 OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Parmi night

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19TH BABUSHKA BAR (Ballarat): Karaoke THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Karaoke BENDED: Parmi Paradise & pub trivia BIRD ROCK: Drink Specials, Ping Pong Challenge BRIDGE HOTEL (Castlemaine): Megan Washington 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 MAX HOTEL: Lukey’s Open Mic Night, $10 Burger night ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Crafty Burger Night OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): Roast night PISTOL PETES: Food and Blues

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Favourite King Parrot Video clip?

The ‘Shit On The Liver’ video was a lot of people’s introduction to the band, so it’ll always be a favourite, but I really had a great time making our new one ‘Home Is Where the Gutter Is’, so that’s definitely my favourite at the moment.

First CD/Cassette you bought?

It was George Harrison’s Cloud Nine.

That was the first cassette I actually bought. It had that song [Youngy starts singing] ‘I got my mind set on you’. Mind you, I was only seven or eight at the time, but I’ve always loved the Beatles!

Early riser or a night owl?

I’m kind of both - I like to stay up late and get up early.

I think sleeping is a waste of time.

Favourite breakfast cereal?

Sultana Bran.

Favourite up and coming band?

KING PARROT FEATURE STORY Written by Natalie Rogers, Photo by KANE HIBBERD

Fresh from rubbing shoulders with the icons of American metal, King Parrot are back on home soil and ready to begin their Dead Set Regional Rampage tour of the East Coast and Tassie. “We can’t wait to play our new songs for the people in Ballarat and Geelong,” front man Matt ‘Youngy’ Young says with a smile.

“We’ve had so much support from people in those areas over the last few years and it’s important for us to get back out there and put on a good show. Sure, it’s always great playing bigger shows but it’s really cool playing the smaller ones as well – we would never say ‘Oh, we’re always touring overseas now, we aren’t going to go out there’ no, of course we are, we love that stuff - it means a lot to us.”

Melbourne’s King

Parrot have long held the title of ‘Australia’s Hardest Working Band in Metal’, and now it seems their hard work is paying off. “We just got back from our fifth tour of the US in the last 12 to 18 months, and we’re still playing places that we hadn’t even heard of before. This time we were lucky enough to go out on tour with Superjoint Ritual they’re incredible! Their line up is amazing - Phil Anselmo from Pantera and Jimmy Bower from

Eyehategod. They hadn’t played together in 10 years so it was a phenomenal tour.

“The whole tour was put together by our label in the States, Housecore Records, (which is Anselmo’s own label), so it was an amazing opportunity,” Youngy continues. “We were the main support and we had our friends from Michigan, CHILD BITE, who were the opening act.”

The last time Forte caught up with King

Parrot, Youngy joked about making sure he remembered to take the bins out on his way in from his day job.

Nowadays, although he’s packed in the day job, his attitude remains refreshingly down to earth. “I’ve been lucky enough to be able to just focus on the band for the last year, which has been great. I still do a lot of the managerial stuff but we also have a manager in the States,” he explains.

“There’s still a lot

I would say Harlott are one of my favourite and Melbourne band High Tension are awesome as well. of work to be done back here. It’s a job in itself getting any band to the stage where you can have a manager overseas – there’s lot of fingers in the pie, so to speak. There are a lot of people working with King Parrot now and as we grow, days are becoming busier and busier. But we‘ve never taken anything for granted - we know we’re really lucky and we’re grateful that we get the opportunity to go on tour all the time, at home and overseas.”

You’d think that after King Parrot wraps up their rampage of the East Coast and across the ditch, they would be in need of R & R – but you’d be wrong : “The next tour we’re doing is the West Coast of the US and all through Canada. Then later in the year we’re going over to Europe and the

UK as well,” Youngy says proudly. “We’re going from strength to strength but it’s been a slow gradual build.

We’re still a new band to a lot of people overseas.

Here in Australia people know us, we tour quite a lot, but over in the US, Canada and Europe people are still hearing about us and finding out about us for the first time.”

Recently Youngy, Mr White (guitar), Slatts (bass), Toddy (drums) and Squiz (guitar) received the ultimate exposure for the band and fulfilled a lifelong dream at the same time; they appeared on Rage as guest programmers.

“It was amazing! A few weeks before we went in to film they sent us ‘The Book’, or ‘The Big Red Book’, I think they call it. There’s something like 20 thousand videos you can choose from.

We got to pick 60 or 70 videos, and it was incredibly tough, you know ? I think we could pick another 70 and still be putting on favourites,” he grins. “It was a great experience for us, and just being one of the bands that gets to do it, we’re in good company.”

King Parrot know success in the Australian metal scene is garnered through the support of friends, fans and a willingness to help out another band.

“We’re really excited to have a cool young Melbourne band called Harlott on board as our main support for the Victorian shows.

They’re a thrash band that have been coming up through the ranks and they’re doing really good stuff. They’re about to head over to Europe to do their first tour, and they recently

signed with Metal Blade Records too, so we’re stoked they’ll be heading out with us.

We also tried to get the best local bands around as our opening act and I think we’re going to have some killer shows.”

Things just seem to be getting better and better for the affable metal-head, so what advice would he give to the younger bands King Parrot have taken under their wing : “Well, I’ve been clean and sober for nearly four years and off the cigarettes for almost as long - best thing I ever did, I hate those fucking things!”

When&Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong - August 13, Pelly Bar, Ballarat - August 14 & The Tote, Collingwood August 16

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Sol Nation

When & Where: Suttons House of Music, Ballarat – September 4, Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – September 5 & Rubix Warehouse, Brunswick – September 12.

Release: Melting Pot is available from August 7 at all good retailers

Written by Natalie Rogers

If you were looking for a recipe to feed your soul and light a fire in your belly, look no further than Melbourne seven-piece Sol Nation. Their blend of reggae, East Timorese folk, Cuban salsa, Latin dance, Afro-beat, Calypso and Brazilian samba will have you up on your feet, while their social message calling for peace, tolerance and understanding will linger long after the party is over. “We don’t want to hit people over the head with politics, but there’s always a little bit of social comment in our songs,” smiles guitarist Colin Badger.

Badger is a living legend. He’s been gigging around Melbourne for almost 30 years and is a long-standing member of the iconic Australian band Painters and Dockers and the Dili Allstars. His rock prowess adds just the right amount of swagger to Sol Nation’s infectious rhythm.

When Forte caught up with Badger he was basking in the glow that only a musician who’s just heard his song on the radio can understand: “Triple j played ‘Beautiful Smile’ on Roots ‘n’ All last night, which we’re all pretty excited about. It was unexpected so we’re all on a high at the moment.”

Sol Nation are an ensemble cast of Melbourne’s finest singers and musicians. “We’re all very different, and from different backgrounds,” Badger says. “We have different looks and styles, and honestly we probably wouldn’t

know each other if it wasn’t for the music – but music brings people together.”

East Timorese-born front man Paulo Almeida and Badger share a common bond: “There’s history between myself and Paulo. We played together in the Dili Allstars and we both believe music can change lives.”

Guitarist and vocalist Deline Briscoe, of The Briscoe Sisters and The Black Arm Band, is another sublime addition to the fold. “Deline is amazing - we always have so much fun! I love playing with everyone.”

The united front of Sol Nation also includes Ann Metry on bass guitar, drummer Mark Grunden, Jeremy Bennett on keys and percussionist Zeca Mesquita. “We’re

rehearsing right now for our album tour and we have to catch a plane to Darwin tomorrow, at 4.30 in the morning - but I think we might stay up, because we’re all so excited!” he grins.

Their debut album Melting Pot (out August 7 through MGM) was a labour of love and well worth the wait. “It’s taken a while to get everything to fall into play because a lot of things have to go right at the right time,

which is tricky to do – but it’s coming to fruition. We were holding out for the right songs, the right line up, the best producer, studio, distribution and publicity – and it looks like it’s paying off.”

Melting Pot was recorded at the Production Workshop with David Briggs from The Little River Band. “David pushed us quite hard which is what we wanted - that’s how you make a good record I guess,” he says sincerely. “We

really wanted the album to sound as it would at a live show which is hard to do in the studio, especially early in the morning when you’re not in front of a crowd and under the lights - but I think we’ve managed to capture it and we couldn’t be more pleased.

“Our music is made for people to get up and dance, forget their troubles and take some time out. That’s what people do when they come to our shows - they know it’s one big party and everyone’s invited!”

Dave the Drummer Q&A

Don’t let the name fool you, Dave the Drummer is about much more than drumming. In fact, he was one of the key producers behind the acid techno sound from London in the ‘90s. We had a chat to the legend on the industries progression, what’s keeping him busy and performing at earthcore and around the world.

Hey Dave the Drummer! You are known for being one of the key producers behind the acid techno sound from London in the ‘90s, how has that sound developed over time?

For me the sound has changed a lot. Back in the ‘90s I was making harder faster acid techno. These days I have gotten more into the current sound of techno – which is still pretty driving and tough, but a bit deeper and a little slower tempo with clearer production and spacey FX. And you’re also the owner of record label Hydraulix, how have you found the talent coming out in the past few years?

I have been happy to release tracks by some very talented people, including Tom Laws, Lowkey and Kardinal, and Marcello Perri. Plus I have been making some new music with and old mate Syber Symon.

You still produce a lot of your own stuff as well, is it nice having such a pool of talented DJs/producers

at your finger tips with Hydraulix? We imagine there would be many cross-collaborations happening!

There are lots of collaborative projects planned for later this year. Including something with Chris Liberator which I’m really excited about as we don’t get to see each other much these days You’re no stranger to the festival scene and you’ve been announced as one of the artists performing at Earthcore in Australia, looking forward to it?

Yes mate, totally looking forward to it, it’s a great festival with a great line up.

Given you’ve performed all over the world, how do us Aussies compare? Do we know how to party?

“ ...I like good times and good vibes and I don’t care how crazy it gets in that respect – the crazier the better!”

I love partying with the Aussies, we are cut from the same cloth.

Out of everywhere you’ve performed, who has been the craziest crowd?

The Brazilians and the Polish are always high quality nutters, the English are pretty good too, the Ozzies also like to get down and dirty.

Have there ever been moments where things have gotten too crazy, or do you thrive off that?

I like madness, but not technical problems, or drunk people in the DJ booth knocking stuff over.

But I like good times and good vibes and I don’t care how crazy it gets in that respect – the crazier the better.

Thanks again for the chat, any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with our readers?

Ignore the trends, do what feels right.

When&Where: Earthcore, Pyalong – November 26-30

The BellRays Written by Natalie Rogers, Photo by Emme Ette

It’s been a long time coming but an all mighty Rockpocalypse is imminent. Those soul-shaking rock ‘n’ roll rebels The BellRays will touch down in Oz this week to make good on a promise after they were forced to cancel a run of dates scheduled for May this year. “No matter what – these shows are going to be kick-ass!” says their formidable front woman Lisa Kekaula.

For almost 25 years The BellRays have been making and playing music on their own terms – and as a consequence they’ve managed to maintain their position at the head of the pack of ‘bands to watch’. They’re constantly evolving and are often referenced by their peers as one of the most influential and original bands of the last quarter of a century.

“We’ve always been proud of being independent,” Kekaula admits, “but it’s more than that – it’s also about not caring about the trends that are out there. It’s always been our choice to make music and play shows that way.

We write songs from the heart and I think when you have that on your side it really doesn’t matter what’s going on around you. We just keep going forward, we’re not looking at anybody else!”

Fans of the band will have heard their unofficial mantra ‘Blues is the Preacher, Punk is the Preacher’. “I think that phrase means more to the band now than ever before,” and Kekaula isn’t shy in giving the credit for the saying to one of her favourite jazz and blues 22 forte

musicians James “Blood” Ulmer. “The phrase is kind of a nod to what was said about jazz and funk back in the day.

One of Ulmer’s albums is called Blues Preacher and on it is the track ‘Jazz Is the Teacher (Funk is the Preacher)’. To me jazz is an early form of punk, early jazz musicians were rebelling against the mainstream and pushing to do something different.”

These Californianrockers are impossible to pigeonhole. Their unique sound is a fusion of their individual tastes.

Kekaula says she grew up listening to everyone from the Ramones, Billie Holiday and the Beatles – but there’s one musical memory that stands out above the rest.

“I remember as a kid when my mum

When&Where: Barwon Club, Geelong – August 12, Karova Lounge, Ballarat – August 13 & Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne – August 15

first bought home Songs In the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder. I remember her listening to it, and playing it over and over again, then I listened to it over and over again,” she smiles.

“I would get home from school and put headphones on and listen when I supposed to be doing my homework,” Kekaula laughs. “I always felt like that

record made me the singer that I am today.”

Joining The BellRays on their quest to bring us a near religious experience through sound is another genre-bending band lead by an equally fierce front woman, Dallas Frasca.

“I can’t wait to play with them, I think we will feed off each other and that will make for an explosive live

show. We plan on playing a lot of stuff from Hard Sweet and Sticky [2008] and Black Lightening [2010] but we’ve been working on some fresh stuff too.” You heard it here first!

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gang of y out h S “I come alive in winter, my god, my nipples are hard just thinking about it!” pg.31

Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky

Off on a Tangent

On September 18, 1970, the world lost Jimi Hendrix. While there will be readers who will know little of the man, most will know of the riffs – Purple Haze, Hey Joe, Little Wing, Foxy Lady and Voodoo Chile. Then there is his performance of The Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock, widely regarded as one of the finest-ever live performances. To honour the 45th anniversary of his passing, RHR Music will host a couple of Jimi Hendrix extravaganzas, including one at Geelong’s Barwon Club on September 18. Taking on the challenge will be Hendrix devotee and guitarist extraordinaire Tim Henwood (The Androids, Superjesus, Rogue Traders), along with Dave Stevens and Michael Stangel.

Following her national sold-out tour early in the year, Megan Washington has sold out several of her dates on her 26-date ‘Tangents’ tour, so if you haven’t secured yours now is the time to do so. The shows are something of a treat for fans, with the songbird performing in stripped-back intimate mode.

Focus once again is on her 2014 album There There, a release inspired by new-romantic ’80s pop. The album is her second studio release and the first to feature her full name.

The Bridge, Castlemaine, August 19; Music Man, Bendigo – August 20; The Karova, Ballarat – August 21; and The Barwon Club, Geelong – August 26. You can pick up your tickets through meganwashington.com.

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To Put it Mildly Post-rock, shoegaze outfit Fierce Mild kicked off their August by collaborating with visual artist Stephanie Peters in curating their own shoegaze/ psych and video art festival, Stargazed: In Search of lost Time.

Due to the unforseen size and feedback, the band was forced to upgrade the venue.

It’s not the first time the band has exceeded their expectations. To launch their double A-side single ‘Astro/ College’, the band organised a launch at Yah Yah’s in January.

Despite thinking they would struggle to fill the space, the event was packed out. Music Man, Bendigo – August 15; The Bridge, Castlemaine – August 21; and The Eastern, Ballarat – August 22.

Know Your Onions Featuring a catalogue of John Lennon’s greatest songs, Through a Glass Onion is a loving tribute to a favourite songwriting son. The show was conceived

by John Waters and Stewart D’Arrietta in 1992, 12 years after Lennon’s death, lending its name from the track ‘Glass Onion’, Lennon’s post-script to The Beatles. The show has enjoyed immeasurable success since, including a sold-out season of 122 performances in New York. Part concert and part biography, featured songs include ‘Imagine’, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, ‘Revolution’, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’, ‘All You Need is Love’ and ‘Jealous Guy’. GPAC, Geelong – September 10 & Ulumbarra Lounge, Bendigo – September 13.

Upon This Throne Folk metallers just want to have fun. That’s all they really want. And for 10 years, Perth’s Claim the Throne has been having a blast. 2013’s Forged in Flame was the last time we received an album from the band.

On its release, Metal Soundscapes wrote: “Forged in Flame is a must-have for epic melodic black death metal fans, a really professional work, with a perfect ‘mainstream’ sound and wonderful compositions. Maybe it’s time to start thinking about a new name, since there is nothing more to ‘claim’, the ‘throne” is theirs!” Celebrating a decade of bad-ass Viking-ness, the band hits The Barwon Club, Geelong on September 6. Flame on, boys and girls.

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Roped into Music For the past few years he has served as the co-songwriter for punk-grass band Cherrywood, and now Joshua Seymour is thrilled to present a collection of his own tunes on his debut LP, Rope Tied Hope.

Recorded in Texas over a six-day period at David Willingham’s the Echo Lab – a Grammywinning engineer responsible for more than one hundred albums – the album is an Australian take on Americana. The release draws from personal experience, playing out over finger-picking guitar and mandolin.

Seymour launched the album at The Toff in Melbourne in late June, but has lined up a good handful of further dates, including one at The Barwon Club, Geelong on August 16.

Maldon Folk Festival Have you been keeping tabs on the Maldon Folk Festival? Never fear, Forte is here.

Another four days of tunes are coming your way a touch later in the year, so let’s have a look at what you’re getting.

Performers include Beth Patterson, Orpheus Supertones, The Joe & Harmony Trippy Hippy ’60s Show, Cloudstreet, Greg Champion, Kavisha Mazzella, Nick Charles, Claymore, The Stetson Family, The Wish List, John Bennett with David Hyams, Rory Faithfield, Luke O’Shea with Damian Howard, Geoff Achison and Janette Gerri with Nicholas Ryan.

You’ll also be treated to the festival market, instrument makers’ exhibition and various workshops. Maldon – October 30 through November 2.

High as a Kite Let the good times roll with The Paper Kites, who recently announced their first tour of the year. Their lateness to the touring game in 2015 is due to the fact they have been busy with album number two, twelvefour. For the curious, the album is called as such because it was written entirely between midnight and four in the morning – pretty good shift work, if you can get it. To bring you, the fine-looking fan, closer to the band, they worked with filmmaker Matthew Cox, who followed the band across the world to document the creative process.

While the album is due at the end of the month, you can check out single ‘Electric Indigo’ now. Theatre Royal, Castlemaine – October 22 & The Workers Club, Geelong – October 24.

Lorne Arts Festival For the fifth year, the Lorne Arts Festival is set to take over the seaside town this month. From Falls Festival regulars to schoolies, the holidaymaker to the Great Ocean Road trekker, Lorne is a hugely popular destination for people of all ages. While its population may be only a little more than 1000 (2011 Census figures), this number swells often throughout the year – including the some 4000 visitors that are expected to pop along to the Arts Festival. It all kicks off with the Grand Opening Night Spectacular, featuring host and diva extraordinaire, Yana Alana and her band The Paranas. With a mixed bag of goodies, the festival also welcomes burlesque beauty Gypsy Wood, comedian Asher Treleaven, Peter & Bambi Heaven’s International Magical Variety Dance Hour, Tom Flanagan (Circus Oz) and Indigenous dance and YouTube sensations Djuki Mala, as well as music from the likes of The Bombay Royale, Leah Flanagan and The Cartridge Family. Festival Artistic Director Monique Harvey: “The aim of the festival is to present high quality performances in unique locations. We want to ignite passion in the local community, out of town visitors and artists alike, enabling everyone to share in a vibrant and unique cultural and creative experience.” Lorne – August 28 through August 30.

The Warm Hug of Nanna At the time of writing, tickets remained for Xavier Rudd & The United Nations’ show at Bendigo’s Capital Theatre on September 13. Having long been a solo artist, with The United Nations Rudd finds himself in new territory – in full band mode for the first time.

With his international all-star band, the songman has released the full-blown dub record, Nanna. Rudd: “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 people. We tour in order to deliver this message and celebrate the energy of one people.”

Hit the venue’s website for tickets.

Don’t Change the Channel If the sounds of The Cactus Channel don’t get you going in the morning then perhaps you need a little more whiskey in your coffee. Playing what they call “Soul music for the after-hours”, The Cactus Channel may have members that were born in the ’90s but they play like they’re living in the seventies. We’re talking bass bumps, screaming organs and all the rest. Have you heard about their new 7” single ‘Cobaw/Fools Gold’? Here is what the kids are saying: “Cobaw takes its name from a small town in the gold rush end of the Macedon Ranges.

Scrubby forests, disused mine shafts and quiet dark lagoons border the grazing land and history hides in all the shadows. Straight out, The Cactus Channel’s heavy, ominous drums and reverb-drenched guitars take this record into soundtrack land. It’s not clear whether it’s a road movie or a horror movie. The B-side, Fool’s Gold, a warning that all is not what it seems, is a slower, thicker tune on the same tip … Shot on location in Cobaw and surrounds, the video uses the landscape to great and surreal effect. Arid Australiana goes dark film funk goes schlock scream movie tone poem is probably a fair description of the results.” The Barwon Club, Geelong – September 12. [Photo: Carl Bertram Photography]

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Take the Reyne

A Kiss Farewell Back in 2002, three guys from the small country town of Balnarring and one guy from Cranbourne formed a band called Kisschasy. Following the release of a couple of EPs, the band released their debut full-length, United Paper People, in 2005. They are now using the 10-year anniversary of this album to give it one final play before parting ways.

From the band: “Some of you may see this as sad news but we feel quite the contrary. Kisschasy as a unit is stronger than ever, we have more fun playing live than ever and we are more grateful to our fans than ever … The main point is, we don’t feel like, as a band, we can supersede what we’ve already accomplished musically. We have three records that we’re incredibly proud of and, rather than milk the band for everything it’s worth, we feel the best way to honour our fans and the music is to bow out with integrity. The history books are filled with bands and artists who should’ve called it a day at their peak rather than slowly fading away. We don’t want to be another chapter in this history … It is now time to pass the torch to the next generation of inspired individuals.” The Barwon Club, Geelong – October 8.

When your shot comes around, you take in no matter what. There will be some readers of Forte who will be familiar with the story, but for those who are not, James Reyne made his Countdown debut in 1979. The band was Australian Crawl, and while ordinarily this may read as just another band getting its shot, Reyne performed with both of his arms in casts – a result of being hit by a car. From there, we know things panned out pretty well indeed for the band, releasing hits including ’Reckless’, ‘Beautiful People’, ‘Errol’, ‘The Boys Light Up’, ‘Things Don’t Seem’, ‘Oh No Not You Again’ and ‘Downhearted’.

Following the band’s split in 1986 he has enjoyed a successful solo career. The Workers Club, Geelong – August 7.

On the Regional Warpath

Feelin’ Thirsty Thirsty Merc will be hitting the road next month for a tour which will clock up a lazy 39 dates, keeping them busy until the end of November. And it all has to do with their new album Shifting Gears, their first since 2010’s Mousetrap Heart. Rai Thistlethwayte: “We haven’t really stopped since 2002, and being around for over a decade, we’ve got lots more experience than when we started . We’ve also got still got loads of energy, and we want to harness that energy to work hard, around the clock, to continue touring and making good music.” The Karova, Ballarat – September 20; The Loft, Warrnambool – September 22; and The Barwon Club, Geelong – September 23.

Nothing’s Shocking

Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties ’cause it’s coooold out there today … It’s coooold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach? Not hardly. Despite this, you can still expect some blistering performances from thrash metal kings King Parrots as they make their way through regional Australia. In the Loop readers, I am looking at you. No seriously, I am looking at you, and I must say that I’m digging your new haircut. 2015 has seen the release of Dead Set, their second album and one to feature a dude you may know called Phil Anselmo.

Yes, the former Pantera, now Down, frontman.

The Barwon Club, Geelong – August 13 & The Karova, Ballarat – August 15.

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Bendigo Writers Festival The Bendigo Writers Festival takes place this weekend. For the full program it is best to take a peek at the address listed below, but we can tell you that Bob Brown is this year’s keynote speaker.

Opening night will feature the former Greens leader sitting down with Melbourne Writers Festival director Lisa Dempster to have a chat about his philosophy for happiness. This year’s theme is ‘The Good Life’ and covers “everything from delicious ideas for eating well to getting the most out of reading and writing, as well as ethics, politics, caring for nature, for yourself and for others”. The festival takes place August 7 through 9, with further information through bendigowritersfestival. com.au.

Slowly Does It Dave Burgess gave up the political climate of Canberra for the coastal climate of Warrnambool several years ago now. Now, why he chose Warrnambool is anyone’s guess, but really it matters not.

With dreams of being a professional musician, he just knew Canberra wasn’t the right fit. He has spent many years toiling away at his craft, that’s when he wasn’t raising his kids and completing a university degree. Slowly but surely the rewards paid off, with the songman proudly boasting a couple of albums. His most recent is Hurry Slowly, a collection of one dozen original songs that tread lightly across reggae, blues and country. The Loft, Warrnambool – August 8.

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It’s not uncommon for many songwriters to have scrapbooks full of song ideas.

Some are complete; others are just the odd line. In an interview with Under the Radar, New Zealand’s Nick Harte claimed to have close to 400 – despite not formally releasing any music for a solid spell after 2007. Let’s jump back a few years prior, however, to the release of Dance the Dance Electric.

Harte released Dance… under the moniker Shocking Pinks, an album that toyed with lo-fi production and “uncomfortable dance punk intimacy”. Local and international deals followed, as did 2007’s self-titled debut full-length. His Facebook biography notes that he battled agoraphobia, insomnia and past substance addiction. Following the devastating earthquake in Harte’s home city of Christchurch in 2011, he locked himself away in his room, painted his windows black, and wrote songs as the sleepless nights clocked up in numbers. Eventually, he was forced to relocate to Wellington. In 2014, he released Guilt Mirrors, a personal mixtape that captured his years in the wilderness. Adding to his, a re-issue of Dance the Dance Electric becomes available in October. Vinyl lovers are covered, while the digital release will feature nine previously unreleased tracks from the original recording sessions. Eastern Station, Ballarat – November 19.

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Oktoberfest Debuts in Geelong

Action Jackson With Ricky Martin in his corner, Melbournebased muso Jackson Thomas placed second on 2014’s The Voice, knocking out many of the show’s favourites along the way. You could say it worked out well for him, with Ricky Martin and Robbie Williams supports already on his resume, not to mention multiple TV appearances. His new show, simply called Jackson Thomas, combines a mixture of all-new originals, as well as a carefully selected handful of covers. Jackson describes the show as “an acoustic set. Piano and vocals. I want to draw on the listener’s emotions. Move them. And ultimately give that goosebumps moment”.

Catch him when he swings by Geelong’s GAPC on August 27.

Time to pull your lederhosen out of the closet and get your best beer stein as Oktoberfest is coming to Geelong and bringing the best parts of Bavarian culture along with it. The festival will start as a one day affair (which we’re sure you’ll be feeling the effects long after) and will take place at the Geelong Racecourse on October 10. Early bird tickets are now on sale!

Experience Jimi It's the 45th anniverary of Jimi Hendrix's passing and to celebrate his life, The Barwon Club and Cherry Bar are having a little shindig. Tim Henwood will be joined on stage by Dave Stevens & Michael Stangel and join in a night of Hendrix hits. The Barwon Club, Geelong - September 18 & Cherry Bar, Melbourne - September 20.

Fool Me Once Suttons House of Music There is quite a bit happening at Ballarat’s Suttons House of Music so we thought it best to allow it a little more space in order to cram everything in. This Sunday, August 9, local acoustic duo Arian and Rhiannon will perform a free afternoon gig. They share a love of folk music, while being influenced by the likes of Paul Kelly and The Waifs. Melbourne guitarists Adam May and Paul Carey are Duo Agogo (pictured), and they’ll be performing on August 13. Performing Brazilian choro music as well as original compositions, in 2015 they became the first Australian guitarists to be invited to the Zihuatenejo International Guitar Festival in Mexico. One Mr Jordie Lane has a date lined up for August 14. Lane’s Not Built to Last has just received international release.

He’ll be supported by Oh Pep!. Following a two-year slog, The Stetson Family will launch album number three, True North, at the venue on August 15. It’s a bluegrass album with a down-home touch of Americana. And on August 28 you have the chilled-out alternative folk pop sounds of Month of Sundays. Their latest release is Hang Like the Moon. Hit suttonshouseofmusic.com.au for all the information you need.

Eddie Boyd & the Phatapillars have been described as a lot of things, but the thing that tends to follow them around is “dirty”.

Not in a cleanliness way, as more hygienic men you’re not likely to find, but in terms of their music – “dirty John Butler”, “dirty Jack Johnson” etc.

The Blues Mountainbred trio took out the Bluesfest Busking competition last year.

They have performed at festivals including Sydney Blues Festival and Corrimal Blues Stomp, while sharing bills with the likes of Wolf Mail, Chase the Sun, Claude Hay, Marshall Okell, Lloyd Spiegel and The Rumours. At the beginning of April the band released the EP A Lover and a Fool. The Loft, Warrnambool – August 16.

The Haunting in Warrnambool Haunted, the new album from Melbourne’s Witchgrinder, has arrived. Fans of the industrial/thrash metal outfit will notice a slight shift in direction from the band’s first album; but fear not, it still has all the sounds and themes the band is known for. One of the album’s tracks, ‘Bloodlust’, was released as the first single and centres on the appeal of ’80s vampire movies.

Travis Everett: “They crave it and must drink it to survive. I find 26 forte

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something somewhat appealing and sexy about this. That is where the inspiration came to write this track, my love of watching old ’80s vampire horror movies... But this is no Twilight love story.

This is straight out blood and gore.” The Loft, Warrnambool – September 5.

Braithwaite & Morris In 1970, at the age of 21, Daryl Braithwaite joined the band Sherbet and between 1971 and 1979 helped the pop outfit enjoy 19 hits. His solo career wasn’t too shabby either, with 15 Top 40 solo hits coming between 1974 and 1993.

‘One Summer’ and ‘The Horses’ are perhaps his best known tracks from this time. His latest release is 2013’s Forever the Tourist. During the late ’60s and early ’70s, Morris had five Top 10 singles. While ‘The Real Thing’ arguably remains his best known track, the songman has been in the business since 1966 when, at the age of 18, he formed Somebody’s Image, later meeting Molly Meldrum who convinced him to go solo. The Capital, Bendigo – September 19.

Saying Goodbye to Winter July not only welcomed the second month of winter, but also the beginning of a joint tour featuring Jed Rowe and Alison Ferrier. The music-makers have been quite busy showing off the goods of their new albums – Rowe with The Last Day of Winter and Ferrier with Be Here Now. Both were recorded at Melbourne’s Enclave Recording Facility last year and both stole the time of ARIAwinning producer Jeff Lang and alt-country darlings The Stillsons as the studio band. The Last Day of Winter is Rowe’s follow-up to The Ember and the Afterglow, while Ferrier’s Be Here Now is the follow-up to 2012’s Sugar Baby and her first recording to feature a full band.

Ararat Live, Ararat – August 21.

Everything Lucie Thorne With her new album Everything Sings Tonight now out in the big wide world, soulful songbird Lucie Thorne has been making sure as many people as possible get to hear a little slice of its magic – even our good Tassie friends get a look-in. Thorne, along with her long-time partner and drummer

Queenscliff, Take 2 The Queenscliff Music Festival has dropped its second line-up and joining the likes of Angus & Julia Stone (pictured), Kate Miller-Heidke, Hoodoo Gurus and Paul Dempsey are Augie March, Cookin’ on 3 Burners (featuring Tex Perkins), L-Fresh the Lion, The Snowdroppers, Damian Cowell’s Disco Machine, Tinpan Orange, Raised by Eagles, All Our Exes Live in Texas, Morgan Bain and Blue Eyes Cry. Festival Director Andrew Orvis: “Everyone who comes to QMF is very important, so we’re looking after the masses rather than the 1% this year. What was the VIP lounge at previous festivals will now have an open door policy for all to enjoy, so everyone will be Very Important at QMF 2015.” extraordinaire Hamish Stuart, recorded the majority of Everything Sings Tonight in Berlin while on a European tour last year. Chris Abrahams, Bo Ramsey, Dave Symes, Greg Brown, Tim Thorne, Chris Parkinson and Pieta Brown all feature on the recent release. The Bridge, Castlemaine – August 22. It you hit up her Facebook page you will find a recent ‘Live in Session’ with Sydney’s Sideways through Sound radio show.

It’s Leave, You Idiot!

Like a drifter he was born to walk alone, was Sergey Onischenko, known in musical circles as Make Like a Tree. Part musical experience, part visual feast, a gig with Sergey is an experience that taps into the traveller in us. A vagabond from Ukraine, the indie-folk songman travels the world, hitchhiking his way from experience to experience. Concerts are played with new members, while songs are written and recorded in all corners of the world.

A show can turn from a one-man band to an improvising ensemble, with the audience known to play their part. He will bring you to the inner world of nature, woods, mountains and songs of whales on the bottom of the ocean. Babushka Bar, Ballarat – August 28.

No Need to Feel Blue Quick bite: Undoubtedly one of

Australia’s finest blues exponents, Geoff Achison will showcase his skills at Ballarat’s Main Bar on August 15.

With a swag of awards under his belt, not to mention a placing on the Top 50 Australian Guitarists in Australian Guitar magazine, Achison performed as the lead guitarist for Dutch Tilders before forming his own band, the Souldiggers.

Double the Spiegel Quick bite: Blues is in the air, with Lloyd Spiegel set to take on the Piping Hot Chicken Shop tomorrow night, August 7. In his midthirties, Spiegel has spent a good 25 of these doing the music ‘9 to 5’, or whatever music’s equivalent is.

He recently released Double Live Set, a 25-track, two-disc set recorded over two sold-out shows at The Wonderland Spiegeltent in March.

Get your hands on it.

Out at Sea Quick bite: In support of his new self-titled EP, D at Sea is heading out for a September adventure. The moniker of Doyle Perez, we were introduced to D at Sea when his acoustic cover of Parkway Drive’s ‘Carrion’ went viral in 2011. Special guest on the run of shows will be Millie Tizzard, who will also be launching her new EP. The Workers Club, Geelong – September 24 & The Karova, Ballarat – September 25.

One Chop Shop Quick bite: Come

rain, hail or shine, the Chopped Rod and Custom show will rev its engine this October 2, 3 & 4. Taking place at the Newstead Racecourse, Chopped Rod and Custom delivers three days of music, dirt drags, hot rods, customs, choppers and bobbers, plus tiki, cocktail and beer bars.

Details are minimal at the moment, but keep an eye on chopped.com. au for updates.

No Fault of Mcrobin Quick bite: Meet singer-songwriter James McGuffie, a fella who travels by the name of Mcrobin. He is an alt-folk songwriter and producer who recently released his debut EP, Fault Lines. The five-track EP was selfrecorded at McGuffie’s home in Northcote, before being thrown Matt Voight’s way for engineering and mastering. He has a Sunday residency at the Grovedale Hotel throughout October, kicking off Sunday, October 4.

A Gaping Wound Quick bite: Bendigo will be receiving a visiting from GAPE in around a week’s time, a death metal/slam band that call Tasmania home. And we all know how depraved Tasmania is when it comes to death metal. The fivepiece was formed out of M.S.I. (Mutilated Spastic Iguanas) in early 2011. They will be joined by Belligerent Intent, Headless and Order of Chaos at the Music Man Megastore

on August 14.

Howdy, Pilgrim Quick bite: Songbird Lilith Lane recorded her latest album, Pilgrim, in Spain in 2012. The album was mixed by Mike Mariconda, the man responsible for the first Powder Monkeys record, who Lilith first worked with back in 2008. From her website: “Pilgrim steps into another realm. Leaving the piano behind on her travels, Lilith’s new album allows garage guitars and spacious meanderings to creep in.” Martians Café, Deans Marsh – September 4.

I Only Have Gigs for You The Bridge in Castlemaine has a couple of corkers, with Anthonie Tonnon set to perform on August 8, while Hugo Race & The True Spirit checks in on August 15.

The Bendigo Record Comic and Toy Fair returns for the second time in 2015, with the Bendigo Exhibition Centre the location and September 20 the date.

Truly Holy (formerly Straw King Eye) will do as they please at The Eastern, Ballarat on August 15. Tickets are still available for Mary Chapin Carpenter’s show at Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Lounge on September 3. Tickets are now on sale for 2016’s Newstead Live, set to take place from January 22 through January 25. Details through newsteadlive. com.

Bendigo TAFE: Boost your sound production career

Being able to demonstrate and instruct music and sound production, you need the full gamut of experience and the teachers at Bendigo TAFE have it. These teachers inject the local music scene with knowledge and experience; having run their own production companies and performed as professional musicians. In total they have over 100 years’ of involvement in the industry; with an enthusiasm that reflects in the successes of their students.

You can certainly learn from someone who was a professional for 30 years, studied the cool sounds of Jazz, and toured with a range of Indie and Aboriginal bands throughout Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the east coast of Australia.

Bruce Armstrong, coordinator of the Sound Production course at Bendigo TAFE still gigs weekly; he has been in recording for 16 years and the live sound industry for 14.

Bruce edits dialogue and music for short films with his own production and professional projects over the last few years.

Hans Meinig is also part of the Sound Production team and comes with 30 years’ experience as a musical performer. He has run his own production company for 20 years and produced many commercial recordings and sound tracks.

Bruce is an endorsed trainer of Pro Tools, which is the most popular sound creation and production system in the world.

AVID Training offers the Pro Tools curriculum and sponsors the studio at Bendigo TAFE, giving students access to the AVID qualification and the Pro Tools system.

The Certificate IV in Sound Production provides students a taste of the different industry areas so they can select a career direction with confidence. They are introduced to live sound, studio recording, dialogue editing, film sound and foley.

Students will learn skills in various areas of the industry with thorough ground work in practical and theory. It’s a one year full time course, and can lead to Melbourne Polytechnic and RMIT courses.

Previous sound production students have gone on to setting up their own studios and multimedia businesses. Others are currently working in audio for advertising firms, film and work professionally in the live music scene as sound mixers and engineers.

The state of art studio has equipment that far exceeds any sound studio in regional Victoria. The City Campus studio is a Hard Disk Recording Studio with 3 isolation spaces and several mix suites. There are 2x Pro Tools 10 HDX Systems, 19 individual pro tools 10 work stations. A 32 channel, 3000 Watt PA with 4 sends of monitors. There are also a number of small PA configurations.

If you can relate to any of this you should definitely consider studying sound production. And if you feel the need to see more why not check out the studio on Open Day and apply to study next year?

Current sound production students will be recording on Open Day, Sunday 16 August in a live band in the studio for YouTube and Sound Cloud Release.

For more information on any courses at Bendigo TAFE, call 1300 321 322 or visit bendigotafe.edu.au.

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Gang of Youths LOCAL FEATURE STORY Written by Jariah Travan

“I come alive in winter, my god, my nipples are hard just thinking about it.”

Intrigued? Gang of Youth’s front man Dave Le’aupepe answered the phone during production rehearsals and within seconds I had learnt unfortunately I was missing out on the ‘full’ experience, confessing he usually does phone interviews in his underwear...alone...at home... in his bed. Luckily for me the weirdness didn’t stop there.

“We’re a bunch of assholes playing instruments, there’s nothing about us that screams a recipe for success,” says Dave. Yet here they are.

You might expect this Sydney band to be a bunch of rebellious adolescents – as the name suggests – instead what you get is fully grown men, with their melancholic tunes of heartache and sorrow.

In theory they should have you reaching for a box of tissues, instead these boys will have you singing along, f lipping the bird at anyone who has ever broken your heart.

Having met at Sunday school, Dave says the closeness of the group really ref lects through their music: “Our mutual sense of disenfranchisement brought us all together.

We fostered love of

creativity in that place, then gravitated towards each other.”

For those of you who have listened to the band’s debut album The Positionwill understand these guys leave no stone unturned. “Long story short I was with a girl who had cancer, married her, she broke my heart, we got divorced and so I wrote my songs in between that,” Dave says.

“I’m not saying we’ve made anything that’s so substantial it’s going to be written about throughout time, but we risked something and that’s all I can really say about the music. It meant something, meant something to us and the band.

“I was writing things that were really asinine and fucking garbage before I met this girl.

I was writing things that were satire and superficial and not really good, but I feel like the songs after meant something. It’s not that I wrote better music but I think I wrote music that was a risk and put my balls on a table – which I think is all you can really ask from a decent artist.”

With only great things in the future to look forward to, Dave said: “Our music has become less about me and my relationship with a girl, and more about my best mate’s, because they’re really good people; picking me up and dragging me through life kicking and screaming.”

“I went through a really shitty stage where I was addicted to drugs and addicted to alcohol and I went to rehab,” Dave says referring to the dark period in his

life which occurred in the wake of his relationship turmoil.

2015 has already been a packed year for the band, with a top five debut on the Aria charts and a recently sold out national tour.

As of August 5th Gang of Youths will embark on a 24-date tour, hitting venues in both regional and capital cities, wrapping up the tour mid September in Tasmania.

“It’s hard to adjust to people giving a shit about what you do for a living – it felt tremendous. I was able to tell my mum I did something with my life, I can’t really express the elation we had when we found out and we partied like fucking animals. I’m not going to pretend I wasn’t totally stoked,” he says of the bands Aria chart success.

Joining Gangon tour will be five-piece, ‘70s inspired pop dream outfit Sydney-siders, I Know Leopardand Brisbane’s Zefereli – solo project from The Cairos lead singer .

Calling himself a “jack of some, master on none” and a selfconfessed Carley Rae Jepsen fan, Dave said the band can’t wait to hit the stage in Geelong.

“I’ve been to Geelong before, it’s going to be pretty interesting to be going there as a headliner and see how people react,” he says.

“I just like playing... I love small shows. Small shows are my bread and butter. I’m terrified of

playing in a room larger than the metro. I feel like there’s an internal conf lict raging within me about selling out.

I like that there’s an inherent democracy and a democratic element, a mutual exchange of ideas and adoration between artist and consumer, between the performer and the audience – I like that dynamic.”

These boys are said to be extraordinary live performers, so what can Geelong expect at a live Gang of Youths show?

To put it lightly “My fucking crouch in their face as I thrust. And don’t expect me to say any nice things about the cats,” he adds.

When&Where: Corner Hotel, Melbourne – August 26, Tap House, Bendigo – August 27, Karova Lounge, Ballarat – August 28, Workers Club, Geelong – August 29 & The Loft, Warrnambool – September 1

Fast FIVE with GANG OF YOUTHS! 1. If you could say one thing to encourage people to come along to your shows what would it be?

Don’t be a fucking coward alright 2. What would you rather Milkshake Wishes or Cheeseburger dreams?

Milkshakes definitely.. Yep milkshake wishes 3. What’s the best/worst thing about touring?

The best thing about touring is getting to spend time with the people I love but the worst part of touring is the people I love finding out how much of an asshole I am on tour.

4. How did you guys come up with the name Gang of Youths?

Stole it...I stole the name from Gang of Four.

Since I was 12 I wanted to name a band gang of something so I thought, ‘Fuck it, I’m a youth, Gang of youths!’

5. Tell us a dirty little secret/bad habit about a fellow band member?

One of us constantly has to go to the bathroom before every show, I feel like giving him a bed pan.

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FROC K IT My Makeup Addiction: How I Store My Makeup

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

Written by Jessica Alves | @jessicazalves

If you’ve been reading this column for a while, you’ll know that I have a wildly out of control addiction to all things makeup related.

From a very young age, I dreamed of one day having a crazy makeup collection and vanity set up. While I’m still working on my collection, (lets face it, I’ll never stop), I finally made my vanity dreams come true just this past weekend, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic.

I have an understanding that not everybody is keen to spend a weeks worth of pay on a place to store makeup, and are quite happy to keep it wherever they have space. The good news is that my organisation techniques are just as applicable to bathrooms and smaller spaces as they are larger ones, and I’m going to share those secrets with you today.

If you don’t have any space to store your makeup at all, I have but one thing to say to you — acrylic draws.

The right kind are very hard to find, and you’re unlikely to find them in many stores.

My suggestion is to google ‘acrylic draws’ in the video tab and have a look at what YouTubers are using — you’ll find that they’re the most inexpensive and visually appealing, and they usually put links in their description boxes to where

they purchased them.

Although they can be a hassle to a get a hand of, they are the most amazing storage systems you can find, particularly if you’ve got no space. Not only do they hold a tonne of makeup, but it also makes it so easy to display what you’ve got.

If you’ve got actual built in or free standing draws to store your makeup in, opt for acrylic organisers or acrylic trays. I’ve even seen cutlery organisers being used to section off all the different types of makeup, which is both ingenious and practical.

If you’re going to be a makeup junkie, you might also want to take up an addiction in candles as well. Empty candle jars and candle holders in general make for perfect brush holders. I use three inexpensive tall tea light holders that I bought from a two-dollar shop.

One of the things I’ve found most helpful is having makeup remover rounds and q-tips as accessible as possible, because lets face it, most of us aren’t professionals.

For that, I suggest having jars with sealable lids as close to your makeup and makeup remover products as possible.

My Insane Skydiving Experience I normally wouldn’t paint myself as the dare devil type, or one to go out and seek extreme adventure. So I don’t know what possessed me to go skydiving last year in Germany, but I did, and it was awesome! Petrifying, but incredibly awesome! So, do you want to know what the whole skydiving experience was like? Here’s the lowdown..

Upon arrival I signed my life away in a way too casual manner and was given a speedy rundown of the proceedings that were to come. I was told what to do and how to position myself at all times, with an overly relaxed German, which helped me stay equally as relaxed and surprisingly enjoy the process.

The jumpsuit that came after this

That way, when you make a boo-boo, you have the tools you need at hand to fix it.

At the end of the day, the decoration is what gives a vanity or makeup space its looks, but organisation and tidiness most certainly do help. Play with your spaces and figure out what kind of organisation suits you best. Makeup is a form of self expression, but so is decorating, so let your creative juices flow!

Save USA

o

discussion was probably not the most flattering, nor the most comfortable get-up I’ve ever worn, but when in Germany and about to jump off a plane and all that…

The skydivers involved all keep you distracted yet revved up the entire time, so you don’t really have that much time to take in what you’re about to do and how high up you are (4,000 ft, mind you). Or the fact that the plane you’re sitting in with far too many people in it might in fact, be made out of cardboard. They keep you talking, ask you questions, fist bump you a lot and genuinely want you to be excited. It worked. I was very, very excited.

The plane was proudly decorated, yet as mentioned before, tiny and a little rickety. The door was made out of soft material connected to the plane

with Velcro – legit, right? The views you get once you’re up there are unbeatable, though. You forget about the dodgy plane situation quite quickly.

Now, the jump.

The jump for me was one of the most surreal, mind blowing, head spinning experiences I’ve ever had.

After having to hang my legs out underneath the plane, I was back flipped out and felt like I was on a roller coaster, but one that didn’t have seats and was incredibly high in the air. You know the feeling?

Maybe not. I wanted to vomit, scream, cry, and laugh all at once.

All I did in the end was make weird noises and lose all of the moisture out of my mouth. Not overly classy.

Then, before I knew it, I was parallel to the ground (yet still thousands of feet above it) and was, what felt like, floating. It was the strangest feeling and one that definitely didn’t feel natural to a human being. Once the famous parachute opened I sighed a huge sigh of relief. I had made it. I was alive! My head felt a little bit out of whack once we stopped free falling, so I couldn’t hear very well and I’m pretty sure I was yelling responses back to my new skydiving pal as he was telling me we were hanging above the borders of three different countries. Nice one, Katherine.

All in all it was such a bizarre experience and one I would definitely do again. It’s easily one of the highlights of my experience living overseas so far, and I’m lamely very proud of myself. I’m incredibly tempted to say ‘YOLO’ right now, but I’ll restrain myself.

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FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands:

Residual Returning to Their Routes

Drummer Wanted Ages 16-25 in the Geelong and Torquay area Call or text 0421967248 Lead Vocalist Wanted for already established psych pop-rock band based in Geelong, wth over 12 months of gigging experience in Melbourne and Geelong.

Female an advantage, but open to try anyone. Hear live recordings at: zumamusic. bandcamp.com. Please contact us at: zumaofficial@ gmail.com or 0432049239.

Drummer & Keyboard Player Wanted for pop/rock originals band.

Phone 0421901530 Guitarist Urgently Needed for Sex Pstols tribute. Gigs waiting. Gelong based. Call Sid 0415328051 Local Bendigo Band Looking for Female singer, cover music, gigs waiting, phone Chris 0403258151 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.

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.

Geelong indie rock band, Residual, will pay homage to their routes and inspire other young musical talent when they return to headline the Push Start Battle of the Bands competition in August.

The 2015 FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands competition will be held at the Meredith Memorial Hall on Friday 14 August. This is an annual Victorian Battle of the Bands contest for people aged 14 – 25. It’s a great event, providing important opportunities for young musicians

and emerging artists to gain local exposure and live performance time.

This year’s Push Start competition will see a lineup of local young emerging musicians who will battle it out for a spot at the Barwon Regional Final in October. Supported by the Meredith Music Festival and Music Workshop, Residual will also join a panel of judges to provide their feedback and critique to the young musicians.

Residual first joined the Push Start competition in 2013 at the Courthouse Battle of the Bands.

Following their success, the four-piece band went on to join the line-up at the Push Pop-Up stage at Moomba which opened the doors for many more big things. The boys have since been on an Australian tour, released an extended play (EP) and supported many big name artists like British India and The Cairos.

The 2015 Golden Plains FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands Heat will be held at the Meredith Memorial Hall on Friday 14 August, doors open 7.15pm. This all ages event is drug, alcohol and

smoke free. Gold coin donation entry. For event details visit www. goldenplains.vic.gov.au/ youth WhEN&WHere: Meredith Memorial Hall, Meredith – August 14

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Darryn Lyons' BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA! Written by Amanda Sherring

In just over a week Mayor Darryn Lyons will celebrate his 50th, and while it’s an impressive milestone celebrated by all, his busy schedule as mayor has kept his mind off the celebrations.

As we sit in his office, his phone is constantly whirring with activity and his assistant taps away at the keyboard and answers phone calls: it’s a busy life being mayor. But that’s not to say Darryn hasn’t thought about his party prior to being mayor, as the plans have always been big for hitting 5, 0.

“I originally wanted to do something on the waterfront and invite the whole of Geelong, so we’ve kind of done it but with a bit of a twist,” he says.

“I’m really excited but I’m probably more excited about the people myself. I don’t get carried away with celebrations or birthdays – especially the big 5.0.

“I remember when I turned 40 I was totally depressed six weeks before and suddenly a couple of weeks after I woke up and I found the ‘W’ word – which is the word of wisdom. I think the 40-50 years are a real maturing kind of stage of your life, and I matured quite late: I was still partying when I was 45.”

And Darryn has been to his fair share of star-studded parties over the years, most notably Simon Cowell’s 50th in 2009 with a Who’s Who of guest lists featuring the likes of Naomi Campbell, Cheryl Cole, Kate Moss and of course, our mayor Darryn Lyons.

“I went to Simon Cowell’s birthday and that was the most fantastic birthday I have ever been

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to in my life, and we’ve got a few remnants [in our celebration] from that party,” Darryn says.

“I was inspired from that party, albeit it was a lot more star studded than what mine will be. But it was just the greatest birthday party you can ever imagine. I’d flown in from Australia the night before and went straight to his birthday party and he and I were the last to leave propping up the bar at 6am, but I don’t think that will be the case for my birthday party. That was a few years ago now.”

On a smaller scale but equally as full of flair, Darryn’s 50th Birthday Spectacular will take place at Home House nightclub over two days (August 21 & 22) with the main attraction on the Friday night.

Guests can expect to be entertained by acrobats, fire eaters, comedians and a musical performance from Australian virtuoso violinist Sally Cooper – classical musical of which is a recent discovery and love for Darryn.

“That’s what I love most today and my passion at the moment.

That’s what I play in the car to settle myself down after what I have to deal with at work,” he says.

Aside from classical music, Darryn confesses to being much more of a ‘song man’ than a band guy, though in the past he spent many days skipping class to see the

likes of Cold Chisel, the Midnight Oil and the Little River Band play at the Eureka hotel.

“I’ve always loved music and I think music is one of the greatest things we have to change our lives in terms of our moods,” he says.

“I use it for that and I bring in music to help me through good times, bad times and indifferent times. If the world didn’t have music the world would be a very sad place.”

For Darryn, music is also a part of his personal life, as partner Elissa Friday is partial to singing around the house and Darryn’s nephew is also part of the Geelong music scene.

“My nephew Oli is a guitarist in a band called the Atolls, so that’s brought me back to music a little bit,” he says.

“On one of his birthdays I bought him one of Prince’s original guitars from one of the most famous music streets in London.

I saw it in a window there, when I was doing well, and I just thought, ‘I’ve got to have that for my nephew!’ I got another great guitar in LA for him and he holds them both with great pride.”

With his passion for music, his love for Geelong and a good time, Darryn is excited not for the narcissistic reasons surrounding a birthday but for the chance to bring people together.

“I’m looking forward to a lot of presents,” he adds with a booming laugh, “Not really, just the greatest gift that can be given really, to celebrate my birthday with my family and by that I mean my Geelong family.”

When&Where: Home House Nightclub, Geelong – August 21 & 22

AN Alien date with OK SURE! You wake up in your bedroom and there is an Alien standing in your room, don’t worry he is not looking to abduct you and or steal your parts.

Instead the Alien tells you that he has been sent for a day to find out the best things about humanity has to offer and you have been chosen to show him around?

Is the alien hot? Or is it like slimy with giant eyes and tentacles? Either way we should probably procreate, you know for science.

What song do you show the Alien and why?

Obviously I’d give him my demo, I could tap into a whole new market.

What movie do you show the Alien and why?

I dunno what’s on? We should go to the fancy cinema so we can drink espresso martinis. He’s paying. That or we could stay in and watch The Holy Mountain.

He says he is hungry, what take away food do you show him as the best humanity has to offer?

Something we can eat with every condiment known to man. And pickles. And Cheese….this sounds like a burger. We’re getting burgers.

What special place in Geelong do you take him too?

Geelong has special places?

Where do you take him to party?

We time travel back to the Nash, I assume he can make that happen.

Girls of Country: Amber Lawrence Amber Lawrence is one of the leading ladies when it comes to Australian country music, and it’s only fitting that she take her music on a ‘Girls of Country’ tour alongside fellow country singers Aleyce Simmonds and Christie Lamb.

Looks like you’ve been enjoying the fine weather of Byron Bay, I hate to say but down in Geelong it isn’t quite as nice. Are you prepared to leave the sun for the true winter chill of Victoria?

Oh yes of course, we’ve enjoyed getting some sun..but we are also looking forward to heading south to find some more music lovers!

You are doing the Girls of Country tour at the moment, how have things been going so far?

It’s been such a great tour. The reaction has been so great, and we have put a lot of effort into the rehearsals and preparation for the show. We are so proud of this show.

Have you done much with Christie and Aleyce before?

Yes, we have toured this show all year but we have also worked together for many years, and we really enjoy working with each other.

How did it first come about to do the tour?

My manager and myself came up with the idea of this tour earlier this year. We thought, it’s been a while since three girls have toured together, and it’s about time!

Your vocals all work so well together too, did it take a little bit of rehearsing to perfect the balance or was it all rather natural?

When&Where: The Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong – Aug 20

Thank you – yes we have rehearsed a lot together, and we are so proud of the vocal blend we have established.

I’m really loving the positive posts you’ve been doing for your blog, do you have a personal mantra that you live by?

Thank you!! I have a mantra of, ‘You can have anything you want if you want it badly enough” … So believe in yourself !

How important is it for you to be able to share those thoughts and words of wisdom with your fans?

It’s really important.. I think it’s important to know that chasing your dreams isn’t always easy, so just believe in yourself and go for it Given that you did start learning to play guitar and to sing at 23 (later than a lot would expect) have you found that if anything it’s had a more positive effect starting later?

Yes I think so, because you realise what you want, and how much practice it takes Thanks again for the chat, are there any last words of wisdom you’d like to share?

Just believe in yourself !

forte 35

Kennedys Creek Music Festival Q&A with Rhys Britnell

There are few music festival who just get it right.

They know exactly who their audience is and as a result have nailed the vibe, got a killer line up and worked out a map that just makes life a breeze.

Kennedys Creek Music Festival is one of them, and they’ve been recognised by Tonedeaf for being one of the best boutique Aussie festivals. We had a chat to Rhys Britnell from Kennedys Creek about this year’s event.

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

At the moment I’m just prospecting. Not for gold but phone reception. I’m literally standing on top of a tree stump in a cold windy paddock holding my phone in the air trying to hold onto reception – it’s great!

I imagine things in the Kennedys Creek Music Festival world are about to explode, have you been pretty flat out to this day working on everything?

Yeah it’s been pretty hectic. The first half of the year is always pretty flat out going to gigs and trying to find the right bands that work well for the line up. Not that we’re not spoilt for choice here in Australia, more just so many bands are killing it both here and overseas at the moment and it’s more about their availabilities. We’ve got a pretty good little team that all do their thing in different areas of the organising throughout the year though, so it’s not too bad. Saying that I’m on two weeks holiday so I’m kinda

dreading my inbox when I get home.

Obviously it’s so important to keep all the details top secret, do you find it hard at all to not let things slip?

Haha, yeah definitely.

It’s become pretty common conversation everywhere I go these days and of course the first question is always.. “So who have you got playing this year?” It doesn’t help when I’m just as excited for the festival as the punters either.

Tonedeaf has named the festival again for being one of the top boutique Aussie festivals, what is it about Kennedys Creek that keeps gaining the recognition?

We’re still trying to work that one out. There are so many amazing festivals on that list we’re stoked that they’ve included us. It must be the vibe.

And what’s the vibe like at the actual festival?

The vibe is great. It’s such an awesome little part of the world down at Kennedys Creek and the whole community come together to put the festival on. With it being such a small festival with only 1000 people, you get to see lots of the same faces and friends you’d made the year before – which is great. A couple of years ago we had a really muddy year where we’d had a week of torrential rain leading up to the festival and literally you camped where your car stopped. At the end of the weekend when it was time to leave everyone from the bands, punters and staff to local legend Ernie and his little blue tractor pulled together to get everyone out. So there were lots of laughs and reminiscing of that once everyone met again last year. I guess to sum up the festival’s vibe is that in some sense it’s becoming like an extension to the existing KC community.

Lastly, what’s your top five tips for newbies attending the festival?

Hmm, maybe bring some gumboots and warm attire for the nights. We’ve been pretty blessed with weather but it is the Otways and she can change on you in an instant. Bring cash, we have no ATMs so you will need it to buy food or something from the market vendors that catches your eye. Study how to get to the festival before you leave. We have had a few people rely on their Google maps and with there being a few black holes in reception have got a bit lost along the way. We don’t sell alcohol, as we are BYO so make sure you bring enough of the canned variety for your stay.

Strictly no glass – it hurts. Lastly, pretty much just bring your best dancing shoes and good vibes. There will be a lot of it this year and nobody likes a dickhead.

Thanks again for having the chat, any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with our readers?

Haha, shit… Umm, going by my answer to your first question I’m not sure wisdom is my forte. Put the phone down kids!

the pretty littles

When&Where: Kennedys Creek – October 24 & 25.

Further details are yet to be announced but are on their way. Stay up to date via the Kennedys Creek Facebook page (www.facebook.com/kennedyscreekmusicfestival)

Birregurra Festival and Art Show A gold coin doesn’t get you all that much in life anymore, but in the Birregurra Festival and Art Show world it gains you access to the whole weekend of entertainment on October 11 and 12. Last year up to 10,000 attenders enjoyed the weekend of top quality live music performances, a carefully selected food and wine precinct, art and much more.

As for entertainment, this year sees the likes of local funk band The Kite Machine, country folk group Moosejaw Rifle Club, indie-rock band The Peeks, ukulele crazed musos Ukes D’Jour, folk artist Forever Son and indie rock trio The Elliots to grace the two main stages.

The festival will be kicked off on the Friday night (October 9) with the opening of the renowned art show. Featuring around 300 original artworks from artists throughout Victoria all for sale, the art show serves as the perfect chance to pick up a unique souvenir from the weekend.

For young families, Australia’s newest and most colourful children’s entertainment band, the MikMaks, will entertain children with their quirky songs featuring the world’s best drumming Panda ‘Drums the Panda’ and look out for ‘Bruce the Hairy Crocodile.’ There will also be the popular children’s animal nursery, carnival rides, a rock wall, laser tag and much more.

“The festival is a big deal for a community our size.

Geoff Achison Q&A

Geoff Achison is the name and for anyone familiar with the blues scene in Geelong and surrounds he needs no introduction. Time for some words from the man himself...

Hey Geoff, long time no speak! How are you going and where are you right now?

Yes it’s been a while but I keep busy. I’m home in Melbourne for now and playing some regional gigs. It’s always great to be home but I am gearing up for the next US trip coming late August.

We have spoken to you so many times before that we don’t really need the full background re-hash, but for those not familiar, can you tell us a brief bit about your self?

Briefly? Well, I used to be the fresh faced kid playing the Goldtop Les Paul guitar in the Dutch Tilders’ Blues Club band in the ‘90s. I was desperately trying to grow facial hair to make myself look older back then and I also learnt very quickly that trying to down as many Heinekens as the Dutchman on any given night was a big mistake! I’ve been doing my own music since the mid-’90s and spent a lot of time travelling overseas playing my original stuff to folks in the US, UK and Europe. I guess you’d call it some kind of blues/roots/funk/soul. I love it and it’s been an amazing trip so far.

You have a bit on ATM, most notably an upcoming ‘Guitar showdown’ with another one of Forte’s Mates, Jimmy Hocking. Tell us a bit about this concept and how it unfolds?

Jimi’s one of my guitar buddies. We were teamed up 36 forte

It’s not-for-profit and is the major source of fundraising for local community groups, with all money raised going back into the local community,” Andy Forssman one of the festival organisers says.

“Just about every community member has a role to play over the weekend and visitors to the festival who come from all over the state have a really great time and can see the enormous effort put in. They also come back, which is awesome!”

Birregurra Festival and Art show really has it all, and it stems much further than just the festival hub. The streets will be abuzz with arts activities, historic displays and market stalls – all thoroughly filling your weekend with quality and varied entertainment.

A display of vintage cars from the town’s own vintage car club and clubs further afield will be on show. The Garden Hub will boasts plants and gardening advice.

The Arts Expo in the historic Masonic Lodge showcases the town’s community arts and features artist demonstrations as well as performances by Birregurra’s Ukulele Kollective, Gospel Choir and an enthusiastic group of zitherists. And for those wanting something more traditional, there will of course be the wood chop competition on Sunday sponsored by local timber company, AKD.

for an acoustic tour some dozen years ago. At first we started out just doing our separate sets and then maybe jamming together for a few songs at the end of the show. We travelled together, talked a lot to kill the miles and discovered we had a lot in common on our two very different musical paths. So I guess the more shows we did, the more fun we were having trading licks and we’d have this slightly awkward conversations sometimes with fans of Jimi who wanted him to blast me with Hocking licks and fans of mine who wanted me to take Jimi out with Acho licks. Neither of us really see it that way but we decided we could actually have a bit of fun with it and so the ‘Guitar Showdown’ was born.

You are coming to regional Vic soon, and you’re certainly a familiar face in these parts, tell us about what you have in store for the Main Bar gig?

I love The Main Bar, what a great vibe they have

going on there! I’ll be playing my solo show which gives me freedom to play some old style blues, some funky soul songs and even a few classic hits which are fun to rearrange for a solo performance. The Main Bar has a real show atmosphere so I can have a chat with the audience and tell a few tales from the road and talk about how the original tunes come together too. There’s a lot of fond memories of playing in Ballarat so it often has a bit of a ‘reunion’ feel to it. More like catching up with friends, you know?

You are also set to play the infamous ‘Blues Train’, are you looking forward to that, it would always be a pleasure having Hugo as your host?

Hugo and the whole Blues Train crew are wonderful hosts. It’s one of the most unique live performance experiences on the planet! My next gig on Aug 22 has me teamed up with the aforementioned Jimi Hocking in the duo carriage. So I guess we’ll essentially be staging our own, stripped back, down home ‘Guitar Showdown’ … on a train!

What is the state of play for a touring blues musician at the moment, are crowds solid?

Mate, our little scene down here in Oz is as vibrant and exciting as it ever was. I’m constantly amazed by just how much innovation, tenacity and passion is being displayed by emerging artists. Playing blues/roots style music is not a business one gets into to make big money - far from it. But the whole scene keeps rolling through the music loving hearts of, not only artists, but promoters, festival organisers, venue managers, sound engineers, blues, folks & jazz societies and most of all our enthusiastic audiences. No matter what fluff mainstream media spews out in the name of music, our blues/roots scene has weathered it and continues to allow our artists to evolve musically and prosper well enough to carry on.

As my old Dutch mate used to say, ‘Keep The Faith’.

When&Where: Main St, Birregurra – October 11-12

When&Where: The Main Bar, Ballarat – August 15, The Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North – August 16 & The Blues Train, Queenscliff – August 22

Forte Columns

PULP Written by Alastair McGibbon

too heavy to hug Written by Paul S Taylor

Sometimes, when there’s nothing new to listen to and nothing new to read about metal, or you just can’t be bothered looking for anything new to listen to or read about metal you wind your iPod classic wheel up and down through your music collection in a daze wondering what the f*ck you want to listen to. You’ve heard it all before and none of it is appealing. So you try the classic albums but you’re not feeling them. You consider out of this world shit you hate, it begins playing and you turn it off because you knew all along, it’s out of this world shit you hate that you somehow convinced yourself you could tolerate during this mood.

When you’re in this kind of mood, like I was a few week ago, I can and will suggest there is only one cure to the ‘no music’ and ‘bored of music blues’: Metallica Corporation’s (Metallica’s) Death Magnetic. If you’re anything like me, you won’t have listened to this album since it was released in 2008 and the reviews all still ring true, it’s the true follow up to ...And Justice For All that took almost 20 years for the band to release. It’s heavy, it’s fast, it’s fresh, it’s a little bit complex and it is still relevant; it still kicks arse. Sure, to the younger fans out there Metallica might seem a bit old and simple and cheesy next to your Periphery and your TesseracT and other djent shit, but without Metallica your shitty djent wouldn’t exist.

While this guide to pulling yourself out of a music slump is all well and good, it does depend on you actually remembering to take your iPod with you on long journeys so you can listen to Death Magnetic. Because if you forget it, you’ll be stuck having to choose something to listen to from the four old albums on your phone.

In other news

Orpheus Omega will play an all ages show at Musicland on Sunday August 9.

King Parrot will be at The Barwon Club on Thursday August 13 and Ballarat’s Karova Lounge on Saturday August 15.

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

Ghost will release their third album Meliora on Friday August 21.

The Dillinger Escape Plan will be at the Prince Bandroom on Friday August 28.

Whoretopsy will be at the Bendigo Hotel in Melbourne on Saturday August 29 as a part of Living Death Fest. The band will also be at Melbourne’s Next on Thursday October 1.

Grave Pleasures (ex Beastmilk) will release their new album Dreamcrash on Friday September 4.

Atreyu will release their new album Long Live on Friday September 18.

TesseracT will release their new album Polaris on Friday September 18. The band will play Max Watts in Melbourne on Friday October 16.

Silent Knight will play Melbourne’s Bendigo Hotel on Thursday October 8.

Devin Townsend Project and Periphery will be at 170 Russell on Sunday October 25.

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.

If you have any news about local metal bands, shows or albums, let THTH know by emailing to tooheavytohug@hotmail.com or get in touch via Twitter at @ TooHeavyToHug

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

Have you ever wanted more when you attend a festival?

Would you like an opportunity to actually rub shoulders with some of the artists, even if it means also assisting with some less enhancing activities? Have you ever considered being a festival volunteer?

Given that I am currently holding down a full time job, my ability to trek from one end of the country to the other in search of interesting music in interesting places is pretty limited, but time will tell …

Many years ago, as a callow teenager a friend and I had the insane idea of running our own festival. If we had any idea what we were getting ourselves into we would have run a mile.

I’m not suggesting you should get into that, but volunteering is another matter. It doesn’t matter how large or how small a festival is, they usually rely on volunteers for helping with ticketing, checking wrist bands, general fetching and carrying, and the like. That’s the boring stuff.

You could also end up back stage, in the green room, helping artists with their gear or with stage selling and signing CDs. Now why am I mentioning this?

In September the Mitchell Creek Rock and Blues Festival is taking place up on the Sunshine Coast.

They are currently advertising for volunteers for that festival.

The lineup includes The Backsliders, Cheap Fakes, Urban Chiefs, Phil Barlow and the Wolf, The Soul Men, Fiona Boyes and the Fortune Tellers, The Bella Reunion, Jimmy Watts Band, Marji Curran Band, The Andy Layfield Sound, Tony Cini’s Blues Explosion and a stack of others.

To register as a volunteer, you’ll need the usual palaver of name, address etc, but they also want to know about your special skills, and this is your opportunity. There’s no point mentioning you can toss a hay bale 50 metres as security has to be licensed, but think of other skills you might have that they could use.

Sales experience balancing a till, stage experience, negotiation skills, photography (include URL!), if you’ve done any MCing or other festival related skills. You can hit their website at http:// www.mitchellcreekrocknbluesfest. com.au If the Sunshine Coast is a bit far, put the first of September in your diary, when QMF will open their volunteer recruitment. You never know your luck, this could be the start of a new career.

Just a reminder that Blues for Lost Souls is on this weekend up at the Williamstown RSL on the 8th. Greg Dodd has sent some amazing news about the event.

Ramblin Ross, who was Dutch Tilders’ sound engineer and roadie for many years back in the day, has donated the Dutch Tilders and the Blues Club stage banner to be auctioned at Blues for Lost Souls this year.

This is a typical stage banner made from tarpaulin type material and hung from both sides as a back drop. There will be a live auction at the event for this banner – another good reason to be there!

Well, ladies and gentlenerds, it’s that time of the week again – you get to read my words and I get paid to write about comic books.

We’re really living the dream here, aren’t we? Not gonna lie, I’m having the time of my life. In stark contrast, this week’s book is about people who are at their lowest, and offered a tentative chance at clawing their way back up the societal ladder – or, at least, get even with the people that wronged them. This week we’re delving into the dark, noir world of 100 Bullets, written by the extremely talented Brian Azzarello (Wonder Woman, Hellblazer, Joker… the list goes on) and drawn by Eduardo Risso.

What would you do to get even? What would you do if the opportunity to get revenge on the people that have wronged you fell into your lap? 100 Bullets explores this question in the typical Azzarello way – with lots of violence and a dark, rather depressing tone. I picked up volume one of the long-running series – First Shot, Last Call – quite a while back, but never actually got around to talking about it until now. First Shot, Last Call is more of a collection of short stories than a single, combined narrative – while there are hints at an overarching storyline, it initially follows Isabelle ‘Dizzy’ Cordova as she readjusts to life outside prison following the deaths of her partner and child. The story then moves on to Lee Dolan, a restauranteurturned-barman whose life was destroyed following his arrest for possession of child pornography – a crime Lee didn’t commit. In both cases, the wronged parties are approached by the mysterious Agent Graves, and offered the chance to right the wrongs that had been committed against them.

Graves supplies both of them with an attaché case containing the identity of the person that wronged them, irrefutable evidence of that person’s guilt, a gun, and the titular

PUNK! Written by Christopher Cruz

So, is Dave “Brownsound” Baksh back in Sum 41 or not?

While his return to the band was widely reported last month, and he himself had taken to social media to confirm that he had indeed returned to the band, he later deleted the Instagram post, leaving fans a little puzzled.

I myself was a huge fan back in the day, so I’d be thrilled if the old gang was finally back together. Stay tuned for further developments!

The frickin’ Meanies are back!

Not that they ever actually went AWAY, but it HAS been more than 20 years since their last full length offering. Their new album, It’s Not Me, It’s You, hits record store shelves (remember those?) on September 25th, and gets the launch treatment at The Tote in Collingwood (I mean, where else?!) on the 2nd of October.

The lead single, ‘There’s A Gap’, is burning up the airwaves as we speak!

Bendigo boys The Revengers are gearing up to release their debut album, Bad Seed. The single of the same name is an absolute blinder, coming on like The Ramones at their ballsiest. Stream it now on their Bandcamp page, and preorder the album. Physical copies of the CD limited to just 500 copies, so get in quick!

Annoying rapper Azealia Banks pissed off Australian festival goers while she was out here to

100 bullets of untraceable ammo. If they take the chance, they are above the law, and essentially cease to exist until the deed is done.

100 Bullets is one of the more famous Vertigo lines for a reason – it’s typical Vertigo fare in that it’s dark, gritty and intriguing, but also grabs you and drags you headfirst into its messedup, little universe. It’s an exploration of revenge, and Azzarello handles the rather complicated topic with aplomb.

It’s a fantastic crime-soaked thriller, with plenty of film noir-style mystery and espionage thrown into the mix.

Risso’s art complements the story in spectacular fashion – while it’s a little dated, he has perfectly captured the dystopic world that Azzarello has crafted. His use of shadow is excellent, and while it’s not quite as fresh as it could be in reprints, it’s still excellent art. To quote Warren Ellis: “Death, power, sex, money, secrets and bullets: these are the only things worth talking about.” There’s a stack of all of the above in 100 Bullets – as is typical of the best Vertigo series’ – and Azzarello doesn’t disappoint. While First Shot, Last Call does a bang-up job of establishing the 100 Bullets universe/ premise, it leaves out enough to leave readers wanting more – something I’m equally impressed and annoyed about!

100 Bullets shares that typical Vertigo feel, a la Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Transmetropolitan and so on, so if you’ve enjoyed those books in the past, and you somehow haven’t got your mitts on a 100 Bullets trade, take it from me – it’s worth it. perform at Splendour in the Grass, calling audiences here “terrible, belligerent and violent”. I’ve only ever heard one decent track from this trick (212, best known for its brief appearance in the beginning of the first Pitch Perfect movie, starring Aussie actress Rebel Wilson), but after her online spats with Iggy Azalea (love her or hate her), she had some balls even coming out here (which I kind of admire, if I’m honest) – she just needed to reign her attitude in a little. Nobody likes a pissy loudmouth. If she’s gonna f**k with Aussies, she’s gonna have to learn how to play the game. Ja Rule apparently pulled the same crap in Sydney recently, begging me to ask the question: Why are people even bothering with these sooks?! Go see a punk rock show, where bands actually appreciate their audiences and try their best to keep you entertained. But that’s just my opinion.

So, Blink 182 are finally studio-bound!

With Matt Skiba, of Alkaline Trio, who’s been gigging with the band in place of the now officially departed Tom Delonge!

Here’s hoping it’s a step up from their ill-conceived 2011 LP, Neighborhoods.

Shouldn’t be too difficult, actually, because that album was just awful.

The upcoming Pennywise/Anti Flag show at Melbourne’s 170 Russell has completely sold out. A second show and tour supports are expected to be announced any minute now. Don’t sleep on it, folks!

Pop-punk(ish) boyband 5 Seconds of Summer have released the first single from their forthcoming second album. Is it any good? No. Will it sell three billion copies? Yes. Can I remember the name of the song, despite hearing it five minutes ago? No. Catchy, it is not. Apparently, they’re touring soon, too.

And on THAT depressing note, I am OUTTA here for another issue! Catch yas next time, kids!

pop culture

THE NIGHT VIBE

Written by Anthony Morris

Written by Tex Miller thenightvibe.com.au

Just recently Amy Schumer and Bill Hader came out to Australia to promote their new film Trainwreck, though you probably wouldn’t have noticed Hader was here unless you were really paying attention as Schumer – star of sketch show Inside Amy Schumer and current comedy darling of the internet – was the one getting all the attention. Which is only logical really: not only is she the star and writer of the film, but she’s the one with a serious amount of heat career-wise at the moment, thanks to her show generating a steady stream of sketches that get posted on various high-traffic internet sites for “nailing it” when it comes to serious issues, especially relating to feminism.

But unusually for a high-profile Hollywood type visiting Australia, it seems – from multiple accounts making their way around social media in the days that followed – that Schumer was a bit of a tough cookie when it came to being interviewed. We’re not talking walkouts or anything unprofessional, more that for a media used to celebrities all but bending over backwards to get their message out there, Schumer wasn’t the type to suffer fools gladly.

Unfortunately, by being so popular on the internet – and popular in such a way that makes her fans feel like they know her – a lot of the interviews being done out here were less about substance and more about paling around and trying to make friends, which it’s safe to say she wasn’t particularly interested in. All of which went a long way towards highlighting the shortcomings of much of the media in this country. Sure, by all accounts Schumer was not what you’d call a generous interview subject, but she was there and answering questions – so why was it so hard to avoid turning things into a car crash? Is it because the very concept of a professional entertainment reporter with the experience to handle a flat interview subject is pretty much obsolete, or is it that these days everyone is trying for the most zany and outrageous interview clip (in the hope of going viral) and she didn’t want to play that game?

Usually the big film distributors won’t bring stars out here unless they’re willing to play ball – why fly someone halfway around the world who doesn’t want to be there – but with Trainwreck being Schumer’s first movie and with comedies being the kind of film that actually can be sold by a couple of stars cracking jokes on The Project, it’s easy to see why they took the gamble. Not to mention that with the way social media (which has helped generate her current stardom) can turn on you in a heartbeat, it’s hardly a shock that she might be wary with what she says to people who can quote her out of context – only a few weeks ago she was on twitter with a rebuttal to a Guardian article that said she had a “blind spot” when it comes to race. And when Schumer could deal with an audience directly during her Australian trip, she really shone: maybe it was more that, as a standup comic, she’s happier when she can say what she wants to say direct to the public?

One of the great things about Australian music festivals such as Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival is that despite being quite segregated in Australia with bands coming to tour, primarily because we are so far away from everything (before you start to argue with this point just think how close everything in Europe is) , the yearly music festival calendar gives us the opportunity to see some of the biggest bands around.

Although I have never been to SITG, it has given us the opportunity to see some of the biggest acts at the moment such as Mark Ronson, Blur, Death Cab For Cutie and The Wombats – to name a few.

From just one look at the photo reviews on the Internet, you’re able to see that all of the sideshows were nothing short of brilliant and, having attended some myself, I can say that it is definitely the way to go to experience these bands. Whilst SITG is one of the best festival experiences in Australia, attending the sideshow allows you to get closer with your favourite band and really get into their music, as they play longer than a standard 45 minute set.

I know that this probably seems like a no-brainer, however, when I got the opportunity to see three of my favourite all time bands within the space of three days, these are things that seem to come to mind. Oh and another thing that seems to be quite obvious is that you don’t have the abhorrent weather conditions that came with it, such as lots of mud and lots of rain.

The first time that I heard Death Cab For Cutie was, without getting too emotional or sentimental about it, a moment that kind of changed my life. I was 20 years old and in second year uni and the president of the music society. Signing up people in O week led to a lot of new friends being made and for some God unknown reason to me, I thought that Death Cab For Cutie was the American equivalent of Parkway Drive or Cannibal Corpse. It’s a strange notion to think, but I guess Death Cab was the buzz words that threw me off the scent.

Having the opportunity to see the band in London whilst living there, was awesome, however there was a certain degree of sadness as the friend that introduced me to the band wasn’t there. It may have taken four years to see the band together but it was worth the wait. This isn’t a review about the gig, just an editorial piece about how influential the band is and how they create music that is blissful and elegant as well as being bold at the same time.

As one of my other friends pointed out, Death Cab For Cutie is one of those bands that write songs for hard times. From ‘Passenger Seat’ to ‘Transatlanticism’ and ‘I Will Follow You Into the Dark’ to ‘Soul Meets Body’, these are songs that you hear and they are, more often than not, able to get you through hard times. Both beautifully written in terms of melody and lyrics, Ben Gibbard (lead singer for the band) is one of the artists that I would most like to collaborate with. From his work with Death Cab, The Postal Service and his solo album, he is a man that truly knows how to capture the raw emotion and feelings in a song.

Some people would say that we are quite unfortunate with our geographical location for touring bands. However, when you think about it, when they do make the trek over here to play, it is well worth the effort to go and see them. It may be a few years before we see them again but by then they will have a new stage show. A couple of case in points for this argument is Coldplay, Mark Ronson and Radiohead – who have brought quite possibly some of the greatest live shows that I have ever seen with them on their previous tours.

You may not like any of the said mentioned bands above, however, these bands are amazing live and the next time they come around you should check them out! forte 37

GEELONG ROLLER DERBY LEAGUE

Mad Pixie from the GRDL Atom Bombs faces off against the SSRD Blackheart Breakers

Many of you would have seen the thrill and skill required in a Roller Derby game thanks to the film ‘Whip It’, but while Ellen Page is entertaining to watch on screen, the real deal is so much better. The Battle for the Bay competition has come around again and we had a chat to Genevieve from the league on what to expect (and not the Hollywood version).

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

It’s my pleasure. I’m good thanks, just juggling my volunteer derby job (media and marketing ) with my day job (PhD student).

So we saw there’s the big competition the Battle for the Bay coming up, how much preparation is involved in such a big comp as this?

The Battle for the Bay tournament started in March and finishes in August with the final rounds being held in Geelong on the 15th and in Keysborough on the 29th. Geelong Roller Derby League (GRDL) trains twice a week, however many skaters also do additional training outside of derby such as cross-fit, going to the gym or pole dancing. From an event management point of view it has taken several months to organise everything for the tournament including venues, officials, volunteers, promotion, and of course the after party.

Out of the four leagues clashing in the comp, what teams have the biggest rivalries?

Traditionally there has been a little bit of rivalry between GRDL and South Sea Roller Derby (SSRD) but our games against Northside Rollers (NSR)

this year have been particularly close. Of course there is always a bit of friendly competition when the two GRDL teams, the Atom Bombs and the Psychotics, play each other.

Are there any favourites to win or will it be a pretty even match?

It’s hard to say really. You can try to predict the outcome based on the results of the rest of the tournament but anything can happen on the day! The GRDL Psychotics are currently 2nd on the ladder, with the GRDL Atom Bombs right behind them in 3rd place.

Just how full on can we expect for the competition to get?

As the event on the 15th of August is the last round of the Battle for the Bay tournament before the finals everyone will be working hard to get their team into the best possible finals position. Both of the GRDL teams need a win this round to get into the play-off for 1st place.

Are there many injuries that happen in a comp?

You don’t see too many major injuries in games but they do happen. Most commonly ankle and knee injuries, and concussions. There is always first aid on site though just in case.

In terms of just the sport in general, how would someone go

about getting involved?

If you’re in Geelong, send an email to freshmeat@ geelongrollerderby.com for information about our upcoming new skater intake. We’re also always looking for referees and non-skating officials. Otherwise a quick google search is bound to find a league near you.

What kind of skills does a great roller derby player need?

We have no prerequisites to join up though skating experience is highly recommended. Typically derby skaters require a lot of lower body and core strength for stability when taking hits, endurance to be able to skate a

full bout, and a bit of agility for moving quickly across the track.

Is it a hard task coming up with the names for each player?

Each player chooses their own derby name and number.

Some people go for variations on their real name, whereas other people might base their name on celebrities, characters, or other pop culture references. There are also a lot of skaters who have started using their real names to get people to take roller derby more seriously as a sport, and so their achievements are recognised under their own name rather than a persona.

In terms of the movie ‘Whip

Fierce Mild The band’s name and imagery (the use of a swan) is a bit of an oxymoron, but we can’t help but love what they represent.

Champions of the psych rock scene, Fierce Mild are heading our way for a few shows and you should give them some time. After all, they just gave you some pretty sound advice on potatoes in this interview.

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

Mental health issues aside, we’re pretty well. Touring, curating festivals and recording an album.

You guys are currently in the midst of touring, how has life been on the road so far?

Perth was rad! We hit the Rosemount Hotel with Lanark, Antelope and Delay Delay and were completely flawed by the quality of every single one of them.

Any mishaps happen?

Smashed phone and a failed attempt at smoke-bombing from a restaurant. Not a bad way to kick off.

You guys hit stargazed this past weekend, which I think was a big one on many people’s calendars.

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it’, where many will have gained their knowledge of roller derby, how close to the film is the real deal?

In the movie they play banked track derby whilst we play flat track derby so there is a slightly different rule set. However some of the plays in that movie are pure Hollywood and illegal in either rules set. There’s no punch ons but it is still a full contact sport so people do get hit hard. We have derby names but our uniforms are less costume-like. I do like the “be your own hero” message of the film though.

What’s the number one rule in roller derby?

How’d it go?

We actually curated it! Along with visual artist Stephanie Peters.

It was definitely one of our highest points so far as a band. We had the entire stage set up with about 10 TVs and four projection screens as well as a live VJ. We’re definitely going to do it again and make it a more permanent fixture of our sets.

We saw you shared the story about Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) not really feeling the psych rock scene in Australia, what are your thoughts on the matter?

Look, he was probably taken out of context, but the idea of there not being a psych scene here (or it only being a few people) is just not true, unless your definition of psych is very limited. Week in, week out, we meet new psych bands and there’s also a long history of psych here with acts like Gong for instance.

Australia in general lacks a lot in the sort of mid-level industry.

It’s hard to take the steps to get yourself to that next level. That’s basically why we decided to form Stargazed.

And what makes you connect so much with music in that genre?

The ability to explore new possibilities and ponder and reflect on everything. It’s a good genre for wandering around, mumbling to yourself and staring at the ground.

To have fun!

Thanks again for having the chat, are there any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with our readers?

If you’ve ever considered playing roller derby give it a go!

You don’t know what you can achieve until you try!

When&Where: Battle for the Bay, Leisuretime Centre, Norlane – August 15 If you’re interested in joining the league and in Geelong, email freshmeat@ geelongrollerderby.com for more information.

This is necessary in a busy world.

Your music touches a bit on the prog rock sound as well, but let’s not get into too much pigeonholing genre talk, what first got the band together?

Haha, we got labelled as ‘PixiesProg’ when we were in Perth.

We thought that was pretty cool.

We’re definitely ‘genre-wanderers’ but we’ll leave the labels to the librarians. We met through friends of friends, studying music and also through an ad on Melband.

We said we wanted to bring experimental sounds and elements of avant garde musical approaches into an accessible format. That was sort of our pretext.

And was your sound something that came naturally or was there a little bit of deliberating between the group?

We’re big on concepts. What we seem to do is take an element or experience of life and attempt to express it through the instrument or voice. This could be making drums sound like a typewriter ticking away at the back of a mind suffering an existential crisis, or a faint memory that slowly manifests itself into a sweaty schizophrenic nightmare, conveyed through a spacious delayed guitar. Each person’s layer forms part of a scene in that way. In this sense it’s deliberate, but it all came together very naturally. It takes time for this sort of approach to become cohesive.

Thanks again for having a chat with us, are there any last minute words of wisdom you’d like to share with our readers?

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.

When&Where: Music Man Megastore, Bendigo – August 15, Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine – August 21 & The Eastern Hotel, Ballarat – August 22

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Refining the Palette

Surf Coast Arts Trail: Cinnamon Stephens Q&A

Opening your doors to a stranger is a hard task, but Cinnamon Stephens is opening the doors to her studio as part of the Surf Coast Arts Trail, giving an insight into the artists living in our community. We had a chat with her ahead of the event next weekend.

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

Hi Amanda, I am very well at the moment and working hard towards this year’s Surf Coast Arts Trail. I have had a busy year, full of commissioned creative metal artworks, so it is a nice excuse to make some art just for fun.

Have you been involved in the event before? What do you love about the Surf Coast Arts Trail?

This is my fourth year involved in this fantastic community event. You can find Rowan and me at venue #33! I am one of the original artists from the first trail. I love this weekend because it is great for me as an individual artist to meet new people and potential new customers. It is great for the community to be able to see and meet the artists in their own studio spaces, plus it is fabulous for the whole Surf Coast shire to have so many people travelling about over the weekend.

As it is letting people inside your studios, is it a hard thing to let someone into your creative space like that?

That is a good question!

I often say to people that this weekend is a rare opportunity to watch me at work. I am a very private person when it comes to creating, and normally only have the company of the native birds flying about outside

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my studio. My husband, Rowan, who is now also creating metalwork, is the only person allowed in my studio while I am creating. So, for this special weekend I normally create smaller pieces that I can talk to people while I am welding. It is quite tricky and exhausting because it is like the two halves of my brain need to be working at once. One half is the creative meditative side, whilst the other half thinks of answers to people’s questions, and hopes that people are enjoying what they are seeing at my studio. The result is an occasional very crooked creation, or an odd answer, ha!

And what does your studio look like? What does it have to have for you to be able to create?

My studio is a cute timber, pitch roofed, creative space set back in the garden with a big window and roller door through which to watch the bird life in my sculpture garden. It is quite small, so I need to be fairly organised especially when creating larger commissions like gates and balustrades. I have a small work bench on wheels that I can shift out of the way for mig welding my larger projects and then sit down at for oxy welding my smaller fish, sea dragons and wren sculptures.

Your work is quite sculptural as well, how did you first get into that form of art and did you try many others in your path

Natalie Palmer by Stevie Van der Chys

#SVDCBodyLove As women we’re often the first to put our bodies down, we’re all too harsh on what we should be celebrating.

Helping fuel the celebration is photographer Stevie Van der Chys who is in the process of taking photos for her #SVDCBodyLove series to be shown in an exhibition and charity event on International Women’s Day in 2016. Follow her on Instagram to keep up with her work (@stevievanderchys_photographer).

The MIFF Is Here! as an artist?

When I started at Ballarat University, we were exposed to all the art mediums in our first semester, then we were asked to choose our major discipline. I was lucky enough to have my future lecturer, friend and mentor, Peter Blizzard on that first day of sculpture, and he decided to show us all how to oxy weld.

For me it was love at first sight! Watching the metals fuse together was alchemic. I was hooked and never looked back. I was fortunate to obtain my first commission while I was still at uni, and this good fortune continues to this day.

You also won a travel scholarship through Ballarat University, what sort of things were you able to learn whilst in

American and Europe that you could then transfer to your art?

I felt very fortunate to win that award. It was based on my third year sculpture folio and a written application. I managed to visit all the galleries and sculpture parks I had on my wish list, plus so many more!!! Every piece of art and metalwork that I loved on my travels and documented in my photo albums and sketch books were predominantly from the Art Nouveau era.

Thanks again for having the chat with Forte Magazine, any last words of wisdom you’d like to add for our readers?

I would encourage people to be true to themselves and live their dreams.

When&Where: Variouis locations, Surf Coast Shire – August 15 & 16 – see www.facebook.com/ SurfCoastArtsTrail for more information

Just how many films seen in a week is too many?

Three? Four? The answer is there is no answer and the Melbourne International Film Festival is here to test your maximum capabilities. Running until August 16, across numerous venues, the festival features films from South Korea, France, Czechoslovakia and more. Visit http://miff.com.au for tickets and the full program.

Breaking the Internet Over Breakfast If you think that deciding between Vegemite and Peanut Butter is your biggest decision come breakfast time, there’s much bigger issues at play. On September 3 for breakfast you’ll find out just how to break the internet. In the first event in the series from Give Where You Live, the Generation Next breakfast will provide guests with a refreshing and effective approach to social media for pleasure and for business. Speaking on the morning will be Morgan Connoley of Colour and Skulls (@colour_and_skulls) Robbie Lecchino owner of King of the Castle and Dirty Rascal cafes (@kingofthecastlecafe) and online success coach and best selling author Kate Toholka (@ kate_toholka). Tickets are $40 and can be purchased from https://givewhereyoulive.com.au.

Refining the Palette

reel health

Reel Health International Short Film Festival It’s rare that health gets a spotlight shone on it through film, and the Reel Health International Short Film Festival is doing just that. Touring through the region – from Norlane to Lorne – the festival showcases 10 international films that inspire, touch and challenge audiences.

International Short Film Festival

The event has been made possible through the partnership between Barwon Health and Monash Health. Or more aptly, through the working relationship between Peter Kelly (Barwon Health) and Johnathon Green (Monash Health). “I have known Peter for a number of years and worked with him on a few different projects in a variety of roles in the past. When I started working on Reel Health, I knew he would appreciate the concept and so invited him along to the 2014 Premiere and Awards Night,� Johnathon says.

“By the end of the night, Peter was asking me if I thought we could make a tour through the Barwon Region a reality – from there it was a case of working through what would be required to bring it together.

Having worked with Peter in the past, I knew he would have the drive to work through the logistics and maintain faithful to the festival’s concept.�

The version of the festival that is to tour through the Barwon region is as Johnathon puts it, the “best of � selection from past screenings and has

been made free for the public thanks to the generosity from the local community in the Barwon region. “Health and hospitals are popular subject matter in mainstream media; however it is also filled with clichĂŠs and stereotypes. The starting point of Reel Health was to provide a platform for people to tell stories of genuine health issues,â€? he says. “Film in general – and particularly the short film genre – has a remarkable capacity to engage with audiences and communicate genuine stories of health

and well-being. It is a different approach to health communication that has the ability to raise awareness of issues or start conversations within the community.�

The films will create these discussions through various different formats; documentary, narrative, animation and even music video. It’s important to remember that the films aren’t to lecture you on health issues, they are to offer up personal stories, discusses and a new view point.

One such film is Duct Tape Surfing, where Pascale Honore

was unfortunately left as a paraplegic after a car accident. In the short film she is able to relive her joy of surfing thanks to a little bit of duct tape, or should we say a lot, and a willing surfer.

This film is just one of the many that are on offer to give you a new perspective on life, all of which are well worth your time and offer an alternative to your typical film experience.

Tea Expo At the Pier

FREE

There’s something about a cup of tea that’s so comforting, delicious and generally good for you. Celebrating all that and more is the Australian International Tea Expo held at The Pier in Geelong on October 16-18. The event will be opened by a special Chinese Southern Lion Performance and feature tea classes, a High Tea over the bay, a Black Tea Dinner and numerous stalls. To find out more visit the website (http://australianteaexpo.com.au) and book your tickets as this one’s sure to sell out. After all, who doesn’t love a good cuppa?

Follow the Art Trail

The houses along the Surf Coast are beautiful in its own right, but seeing inside them and into an artist’s studio is a rare glimpse that can only be appreciated. Such an opportunity will come with the Surf Coast Arts Trail across various venues next weekend (August 15 & 16). Visit the www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au and follow the links to find the list of artists and the trail itself.

)HDWXULQJ D VHOHFWLRQ RI FDSWLYDWLQJ VKRUW ÀOPV IURP DOO RYHU WKH ZRUOG UHHO KHDOWK VKRZFDVHV VWRULHV RI FRXUDJH DQG LQVSLUDWLRQ EULPPLQJ ZLWK KRSH VWUHQJWK IULHQGVKLS DQG VXUYLYDO WNTR Fun and Saturday August 1 ~ 3pm BARWON HEADS Hall - 79 Hitchcock Ave Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYOX

Wednesday August 5 ~ 7pm (Launch night) Village Cinemas GEELONG - 194 - 200 Ryrie St Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPC

Friday August 7 ~ 7pm Courthouse Youth Arts GEELONG - 60 Little Malop St Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPG Thursday August 13 ~ 7pm COLAC Cinema - Cnr Gellibrand St & Rae Street Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPP

Friday August 14 ~ 7pm SpringDale Neighbourhood Centre, DRYSDALE - 17 – 21 High St Book at http://www.trybooking.com/ICYC

Dance

The coldest of winter Tuesday August 18 ~ 3pm is almost over now, so lets stop hiding away in Cumberland our LORNE Resort - 150 Mount Joy Parade rooms and get out and have some fun. The Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPU WNTR Cabaret Festival is on at GPAC presented

by Doorstep Arts from August 21-29. Amongst the handful of shows Jackson Thomas will perform, as will TV star Rob Mills, tap dancers the Tap Pack as well as many more. Visit www. doorsteparts.com for more details and tickets.

Thursday August 20 ~ 12 midday Norlane Child and Family Centre, When&Where: NORLANE – 52 - 56 Gerbera Avenue Various locations (see poster) Book – August 1 – at http://www.trybooking.com/ICXW September 23

Tuesday August 25 ~ 7pm Surf World TORQUAY - Surf City Plaza, Beach Rd Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYGU Friday August 28 ~ 7pm EAST GEELONG 8QLWLQJ &KXUFK œ%D\ 5RRP¡ 195 Ormond Rd Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPX Wednesday September 23 ~ 7.30pm QUEENSCLIFF Uniting Church – 83 – 89 Hesse St Book at http://www.trybooking.com/ICXJ

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Refining the Palette

Black Panther Woman Written by Amanda Sherring

Marlene Cummins has witnessed and experienced a lot in her lifetime, both through her involvement with the Australian Black Panther Party in 1972 and Australia in general.

Now 40 years later, Marlene has broken her silence on what occurred during her involvement with the party through the film Black Panther Woman. “I remember being in Alice Springs for not too long when a young aboriginal girl was running down the street in Alice Springs and guys were chasing her and bottles and rocks were being thrown,� she says pausing. “They were chasing her.� “She was a skinny woman and there was just sheer terror on her face, and this was like an acceptable thing. No

one was really coming to her rescue. There was this attitude of you’re the bottom rung on the ladder no one on the streets was even going to help you.�

This was just one case of many, and it’s the silence following these instances from the women that Marlene wants to address. “For me I’ve had my personal journey with misogyny but what I try to do is to address the issues of why aboriginal women are more inclined to be quiet about addressing perpetrators that are aboriginal or similar factors,� she says.

“Why do aboriginal women remain quite, why do they make the sacrifice?�

And Marlene is by no means preaching what she does not understand as she has been placed in that exact situation. With her strong belief in the Australian Black Panther Party movement it made

her a target for black men in power. She was raped by two indigenous leaders and made the difficult decision to stay silent herself.

What Marlene makes clear is that it isn’t about pigeon-holing or blaming, as is done too often already. “Black men have been demonised and

reel health

it’s been used as a political drawcard to dispossess, take land and take away the rights of the aboriginal people so it has been used as a basis for intervention,� she says. “Violence in the aboriginal community is a convenient political drawcard and society has never taken a common

ground because of that gap; one of scapegoating indigenous people for a political convenience and the racism that exists in general.�

Ultimately with the Black Panther Woman movie, Marlene is trying to send a message that something needs to be done. She doesn’t want to be heralded for

her ‘courage’ as she’s simply fighting for her rights: something that she shouldn’t even have to be doing. “The system has never been supportive of women dealing with violence. Because myself as an indigenous woman I experienced sexism and racism at its most blatant form, I was

powerless,� she says. “What annoys me most of all is that society has always made it a woman’s job to do something about it, and yet this is a man’s crime. This is a man’s responsibility. “It’s time for men in politics to address the issue on a more national stance, it’s time for police to take a more united working stance and politicians have got to stop scapegoating violence in aboriginal communities because the violence that is perpetrated on non indigenous women in this country is proportionate. There needs to be more education, a more outspoken stance and stop putting the responsibilities on womens’ shoulders, it’s been women throughout history until now who are always taking the brunt.�

It’s time for change.

You can see the Black Panther Movie when it screens for one showing at the Lorne Arts Festival on August 29 at 2.30pm. Visit http:// www.lorneartsfestival. com.au/ for more information and tickets.

WHEN&WHERE: Lorne Arts Festival, various locations – August 28-30

FREE

International Short Film Festival

)HDWXULQJ D VHOHFWLRQ RI FDSWLYDWLQJ VKRUW ÀOPV IURP DOO RYHU WKH ZRUOG UHHO KHDOWK VKRZFDVHV VWRULHV RI FRXUDJH DQG LQVSLUDWLRQ EULPPLQJ ZLWK KRSH VWUHQJWK IULHQGVKLS DQG VXUYLYDO Saturday August 1 ~ 3pm BARWON HEADS Hall - 79 Hitchcock Ave Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYOX

Tuesday August 18 ~ 3pm Cumberland LORNE Resort - 150 Mount Joy Parade Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPU

Wednesday August 5 ~ 7pm (Launch night) Village Cinemas GEELONG - 194 - 200 Ryrie St Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPC

Thursday August 20 ~ 12 midday Norlane Child and Family Centre, NORLANE – 52 - 56 Gerbera Avenue Book at http://www.trybooking.com/ICXW

Friday August 7 ~ 7pm Courthouse Youth Arts GEELONG - 60 Little Malop St Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPG Thursday August 13 ~ 7pm COLAC Cinema - Cnr Gellibrand St & Rae Street Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPP Friday August 14 ~ 7pm SpringDale Neighbourhood Centre, DRYSDALE - 17 – 21 High St Book at http://www.trybooking.com/ICYC

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Tuesday August 25 ~ 7pm Surf World TORQUAY - Surf City Plaza, Beach Rd Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYGU Friday August 28 ~ 7pm EAST GEELONG 8QLWLQJ &KXUFK œ%D\ 5RRP¡ 195 Ormond Rd Book at http://www.trybooking.com/HYPX Wednesday September 23 ~ 7.30pm QUEENSCLIFF Uniting Church – 83 – 89 Hesse St Book at http://www.trybooking.com/ICXJ

regional victoria's #1 music & entertainment magazine and online service!

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Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk Written by Tex Miller

Chris Russell is back. It may have taken a couple of years for it to happen but he’s about to head out on the road in support of his latest single ‘Swimsuit’ and unleash new tunes thanks to the new fire in his belly. Although ‘Swimsuit’ is the latest single and the reason for this promotional tour before Ride the third studio album is released in September, it is a track that has been around in the live set for a few years now.

“You are right in thinking that mate,” Russell begins,“It’s a track that we have been playing live for a while now and what we tend to do, is pick songs up and down, then down and rotate them through the set.

When Dave joined the band, which was about two years ago, we had never played together before and it seemed like we should get to know each other musically and we recorded anything. We were both busy and Dave plays in about seven other bands and that’s primarily why it has taken two years to be released as a single and recorded on an album.”

The new track from Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk, as you can expect, is full of energy and a certified classic track from the band. Right from the get go, there is hand-clapping, dirty guitar and loud drums, which have become the staple sound for CRCW over the past couple of albums. On the back of their sophomore release Shakedown a few years ago; the band was thrust into the limelight and played shows such as

Meredith Music Festival and Queenscliff Music Festival as well as just about every Melbourne dive which allowed them to really hone their skills in creating a cracker live show. If you’re headed along to the show on Friday night at the Barwon Club you are sure to see some raw energy as the duo take to the stage.

The new album, as Chris explains, is going to sound a little different to how the others do, and that is primarily down to the environment in which the duo recorded.

The days of town halls and aiming to get a natural reverb to the sound were thrown away as the duo were able to afford professional environments.

“We recorded in an actual studio this time

When&Where: Barwon Club, Geelong – August 7, Howler, Melbourne – August 8 & Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine – August 16

around and that was really good. It was a venture that we could afford and decided to take up. The guys that mixed the first two records were up for engineering the sessions and we got on well with them. It seemed like the right thing to do, it’s a bit like if you flirt with a girl a couple of times, the next

thing to do is kiss her,” Russell said cheekily.

The last time that Chris Russell played the Barwon Club was when he was supporting the original Swamp Fox himself, Mr. Tony Joe White. There isn’t much Chris can say about TJW but he is the real deal. “It is definitely the coolest thing we have got to do this year. That show

went off the charts and the vibe was electric and we can’t wait to get back down to Geelong and party like last time. See you down there mate!”

Holy Holy Written by Amanda Sherring

It seems that everything for Holy Holy has been a natural progression. First with Oscar Dawson and Timothy Carroll’s volunteer trip together, to forming the band – the two first worked together on Tim’s solo project – to now releasing their debut, When the Storms Would Come.

“For a long time the pieces were falling and you couldn’t really define where they were going to fall, but this is where they did fall,” Oscar says with a smile.

In the past Holy Holy’s music has been labelled as ‘broody’, and while this sound still lingers their debut has a noticeably more uplifting sound. As the band have said they wanted to take a step away from that sound they’ve been pigeon-holed into.

While Oscar acknowledges that a lot of Holy Holy has been easy decisions, it’s not how everything necessarily pans out.

“Obviously it’s not always going to be like that.

Sometimes Tim will be pushing more for this or I’ll be pushing more for that, but we just let it breath and there’s a bit of give and take,” he says.

“Sometimes when I’m being a bit more egotistical I’ll say, ‘Oh I want it like this’, but if I take a step back I realise that if I always had my way we’d be making really weird music and it’d be all guitar solos which mightn’t be so good.

“But Tim encourages me to play guitar solos which

is great. Because a lot of people don’t and they often say, ‘Man, can you please stop doing that!”

Adding to their sound is the decision to record on tape, something that these days serves as a bit of a novelty for some bands, but for Holy Holy was an important aspect of their sound.

“Some people use tape as a bit of an afterthought and just to get that ‘sound’, but literally with Matt [Redlich] everything he did went on to tape from the start of the album,” Oscar says.

“So I don’t think there was even a computer in the studio for a long time. You’d go into the studio and look for the computer because that’s what you’re used to, but that was a great way to record because it made us use our ears more instead of watching on the screen.”

Only weeks since landing home from a European tour, Oscar is excited to finally get the album out there, see what people think and take it around Australia on tour.

“It will be good to finally get this record out,” he says.

“It’s been a long time spent on making it and we’ve worked for a number of years and we’ve developed a lot over the years and I’m excited to get it out and see what happens.

“It’s always weird when you work on things for such a long time because you’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve actually got to release this’.”

Release: When the Storms Would Come is out at all good retailers now When&Where: Workers Club, Geelong – September 3, Karova Lounge, Ballarat – September 4 & Howler, Melbourne – September 5

I OH YOU Written by Amanda Sherring

While the story goes around that I OH YOU originated out of a need to pay some gas bills, at least the promotion side of the business, the label actually came from the need to help out some friends.

“We just had a bunch of friends that were really struggling to find labels and I think Johann [Ponniah] was helping them out with life and to book gigs,” Scott Armstrong of I OH YOU says.

“He moved to Melbourne the day after year 12 with the idea of what he wanted to do and he basically just formalised something he was doing for a long time. At the time I think it was more out of necessity and things have moved on a little bit from that but I still think at the heart of it’s really just releasing music we love.”

It’s these actions that have been at the heart of what I OH YOU do, and so coming on board for the month-long festival that is Oxjam seemed like a no-brainer for the duo.

“I really do think that throughout the whole story we’ve tried to be involved with little things like this,” he says.

“We throw a lot of parties and I just think there’s something really different about this one. We feel very lucky to have even been asked to get involved with this one.

“What Oxjam does really well is it brings a lot of people together through the love of music and it gives artists like us the chance to be involved with the gig in a different capacity.”

For their contribution towards the event, the duo have enlisted World’s End Press, Ara Koufax, Sunbeam Sound 44 forte

Machine, Fortunes, Darcy Baylis and Breaking & Entering Djs to all donate their time to the cause.

While it’s about raising money for a good cause, it’s also about putting on a good gig – which I OH YOU are more than capable of – and this event is a line up they’d be happy to craft no matter what the occasion.

“We’re just huge fanboys of everyone that’s on that line up,” Scott adds with a laugh.

“Johann and I first banded over bands like World’s End Press and we first saw them play at places like Meredith and Golden Plains and they’re the ultimate party band for us.”

The end goal, is the hope that the show on August 15 (and all for that matter) will sell out and raise as much money for the cause as possible. And as Scott tells me, Oxfam really know what they’re doing and is a charity he really respects.

“If you think about what Oxfam does you wouldn’t even know half of them because there are so many layers to how they structure their work and the aid and how that’s done,” he says.

“It’s really inspiring and it’s not just about delivering food or shelter it’s so much more than that and that’s why we think it’s so worthwhile.”

To see what gigs are happening in your area visit the website (http://www.oxjam.org.au/) and get along!

When&Where: The Shadow Electric, Melbourne – August 15.

DON’T MISS OUT! “A DEEPLY FELT REFLECTION OF THE MAN. SAVOR EVERY MINUTE.” – NEW YORK TIMES

DUET PROUDLY PRESENTS

THE NEW YO R PRODUC K TION

WITH THE MUSIC AND LYRICS OF JOHN LENNON LENNON & McCARTNEY

JOHN WATERS with STEWART D’ARRIETTA SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER, 7PM ULUMBARRA THEATRE

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and Potomac” and “Two Cathedrals” are simply the best two episodes of television that I’ve ever seen. They draw on everything we’ve been through over two years and pull your emotions to ever corner. It’s impossible to watch without crying. Just.

Simply. Impossible.

SHOWS YOU SHOULD HAVE WATCHED

THE WEST WING “Breaks over. What’s next?”

Welcome to another edition of “Shows You Should Have Watched”, the series of articles dedicated to the shows that were too early for the current mindset and availability of TV on Demand, binge-watching and social media commenting. You know how you have that one friend that insists you watch some show that you might have vaguely heard of but have no interest in? I’m that guy. I’m here to tell you why you should be interested in them.

My fellow Torrent This members, as your writer, it gives me great pleasure to talk about the show on the agenda today. After a brief sojourn into comedy with the last edition of SYSHW, we’re back on familiar ground by looking at another drama. However, unlike cable shows like The Wire and Band of Brothers that are by nature allowed more creative freedom in order to become great, The West Wing managed to be fantastic within the confines of network television. If Aaron Sorkin wasn’t a household name before The West Wing, he certainly became as big a celebrity as any writer before or since based on the calibre of this show.

For the uninitiated, which to be fair is pretty much everybody under 30, The West Wing first aired in 1999 and is set around the inner workings of the White House, with a specific focus on President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) and his inner sanctum of trusted advisors. As popular as House of Cards is now, it must be pointed out that up until this show, there had never been a successful show set in politics. Sorkin’s trick was to approach is less as a political show in structure, but as a workplace procedural show. Much like the joy of House M.D. came from watching the by-play between actors as much as it did the solving of cases, the joy of The West Wing is less about the political bent (it is an unashamedly liberal show, with Democrats championed and republicans mostly mocked) and more about watching relationships be tested, strained and developed. Comedian Daniel Kitson once summed up the show brilliantly: “It’s just really good people, being good for the sake of other people…in place of a high swearing quotient, it’s got honour, and call me a samurai but that’s what I go for.”

The smartest thing about The

West Wing by far is in the casting. With the exception of the impossibly attractive Rob Lowe, the show is not filled with glamourous celebrities who sometimes act, but with some of the most talented stage and film actors ever assembled. Much like The Wire, the actors are capable of lifting the source material to another level, and as much as you wouldn’t expect it in a show set in the dry world of geopolitics, the cast deliver more laughs and tears than any show I’ve ever watched. No show has ever left me speechless as often. The West Wing hits its emotional beats often, and hard. The cast play Sorkin’s words like Miles Davis plays jazz – not a single note is wasted. Everything is timed to 4. DINOSAURS

Original run: 1991-94 Seasons: 4 “Not the mama!” was one of the most memorable TV catch phrases of the ‘90s, and it came from this live action sitcom starring a family of dinosaurs known as The Sinclairs. This show was far ahead of its time, and due to the difficulties and costs to produce it, has never been attempted since.

5. BILL & TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES

THE 5 MOST UNDERRATED KIDS SHOWS OF THE 90S: 1. GOOF TROOP

Original run: 1992-93 / Seasons: 2 One of the best spin off cartoons Disney ever produced. The show was loosely based on 1950s Goofy shorts where he was the father of a mischievous red-haired son, the show followed Goofy as he and his son Max moved back to his hometown of Spoonerville.

They lived next door to Goofy’s high school friend Pete, and Max became best friends with Pete’s son P.J. 2. TOXIC CRUSADERS

Original run: 1991 / Seasons: 1 Based on The Toxic Avenger films, this series followed the same environmental-friendly themes like shows such as Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Although it was much tamer than the films,

46 forte

it still contained many adult jokes that would run straight over children’s heads. The show followed Melvin Junko, a nerd who after being exposed to toxix waste, is transformed into Toxie, a “hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength.”

3. THE FERALS

Original run: 1994-95 / Seasons: 2 The only Australian show on the list, but by golly it’s a good one.

This was always a favourite for my after school ABC viewing, not only for its use of puppets, but Kylle Hogart (who plays a medical student who dreams of being a rock star) was my first celebrity crush.

The show followed Leonard and Kylle, two uni students who had the privilege of having The Ferals live in their backyard shed. The Ferals were all puppets; Rattus the rat, Madigliana the cat, Mixie the rabbit and Deryn the dog.

Original run: 1990-91 Seasons: 2 Yep that’s right, Bill and Ted had their own cartoon spin off.

Although there were two seasons in total, I’m focusing on just the first (the second season featured new voice actors and changed The concept of their time travelling capabilities, in other words it sucked.) The series perfectly encapsulated what made the movies so popular.The humour is spot on, visually it looks great (Hannah Barbera produced season one) and the stories are genuinely entertaining. It isn’t so much a spin off, I view each episode as a mini sequel to the movie. It’s a travesty that Fox Kids took the show in their own direction for season two. Who knows how many more stories we could have enjoyed from the original cast.

Written by Dando.

perfection. Every syllable drips into your ears.

As for the writing that they play so well: It’s Sorkin at his best. It is passionate and at times preachy, but it is too damn entertaining to ever feel like a lecture. It helps that Sorkin understands his audience, and it’s always easy to win an argument when the viewers are already on your side.

Sorkin wrote the first four seasons of the seven season show, and his absence is dramatically noticeable from season five onwards. The performances remain the same high standard, but there’s a spark that takes a while to come back.

You could get away with only watching the first four seasons and be comfortable in the knowledge that you’ve seen the

best of the show, but don’t take that as an excuse not to watch those first four.

They are as good as anything ever has been on television. It is worth sticking around for the end as the show does find its find its feet again after a slow start to season 5, and your patience will be rewarded, even if the show doesn’t quite hit the same highs again.

Being a Network show, there are 22 episodes to a season, so there is a lot of content to get through here. It can take an episode or two to get used to the rhythm. The dialogue is so effortlessly snappy that it took me 20 minutes to catch up with it on my first viewing, and I had to start over once I had an ear for it. The show ends on a brilliant cliff-hanger in the first season, but it’s the end of season two that is the absolute high-point for the show. The last two episodes of that season, “18th

The West Wing is another one of those shows that can be difficult to recommend.

It doesn’t sound exciting or sexy on paper. It’s just a show about people working in politics, and who understands politics?

But please put that aside.

Find and watch this show. You’ll feel like a better human afterwards, and you’ll understand the genius of Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney, John Spencer and Richard Schiff. All actors who have never been granted the chance to properly shine in mainstream films. You’ll beg for Martin Sheen to run for president, because he is so much better than anything in real life. But more than that, you’ll finish watching it and immediately want to start again, just to keep hearing Sorkinese in your house. You’ll feel smarter, and you’ll feel inspired to know that somewhere out there lies the possibility that there are still good people who want to do.

Written by Mitch Grinter.

22 USELESS FACTS ABOUT BILL & TED 1. Keanu Reeves was upset

when he found out that he was playing Ted, since he thought he had the role of Bill. Alex Winter has said he offered the role of Bill to Reeves but it never eventuated.

2. The actual phone booth from the original movie was won by a guy named Kenneth Grayson in a Nintendo Power magazine competition.

3. Speaking of the phone booth, it was originally going to be a 1969 Chevy van. Apparently the director deemed it to “Scooby Doo” esque and changed it.

Plus, Back To The Future had come out just two years prior to filming the first movie.

4. The director, Stephen Herek, also directed the cult classic Critters.

5. The concept of Bill & Ted originated from an act in an improv class featuring the script writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon 6. It was originally Bill, Ted & Bob, but the guy playing Bob wasn’t into the act and so it became a duo.

7. Other historical figures including Babe Ruth were part of the first draft.

8. The first film was produced

by DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group, but the company hit financial trouble before it could get the movie into theaters and was shelved until a small video company called Nelson Entertainment came in and offered to pay the completion costs and acquire domestic rights, releasing it in the US with Orion Pictures two years after shooting had finished.

9. Nelson Entertainment bought the rights to the film for $1 million, but went on to bring in over $40 million at the box office.

10. Jane Wiedlin from The Go Gos plays Joan Of Arc. 11. Musician Stevie Salas provides the fingering for Rufus during the jam session at the end of the movie.

12. The original ending saw the presentation be delivered in the classroom, with the final scene having Bill & Ted take the princesses to the prom.

13. William Sadler, who played

Death in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, also played the father of the “my word” family who appear when De Nomolos takes over the telecast.

14. De Nomolos is script writer Ed Solomon’s name spelled backwards.

15. The location where evil Bill and Ted try to kill Bill and Ted, is the same rock face that James T Kirk is standing on in the Star Trek scene that Bill & Ted watch earlier.

16. The original title for the sequel was Bill & Ted Go To Hell.

17. There was a Bill And Ted Excellent Comic Book series released in the 90s which lasted 12 issues.

18. The # key is replaced with the infinity symbol.

19. Pauly Shore auditioned for the role of Ted. 20. The original idea was for Sean Connery to play Rufus.

21. The original script was written by hand in just four days.

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workers club

the barwon club

workers club

the barwon club

odyssey tavern

the barwon club

the barwon club

48 forte

odyssey tavern

beav's bar

home house

home house

beav's bar

beav's bar

eureka

eureka

eureka

forte 49

captain

the juke

captain

the juke

the juke

there there

home house

home house

the max

there there

the max

the max

pistol pete's

odyssey tavern

odyssey tavern

50 forte

pistol pete's

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Film Reviews

Films reviewed by Anthony Morris

t h e w rap Paper Towns It’s more teen angst from the pen of John Green (The Fault in Our Stars), as a high school good guy throws it all away to track down the wild child next door neighbour he’s had a crush on since forever.

Ant-Man The Marvel movie formula goes back to basics and is the better for it in this (relatively) small scale saga of a guy (Michael Douglas) who invented shrinking technology and the nice guy thief (Paul Rudd) he brings on board to steal the technology before it falls into the wrong hands.

Mr Holmes

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation Over the years the Mission Impossible franchise has honed itself into one of the more surefire franchises in 21st century Hollywood. Yes, much of the appeal comes from the chance to see Tom Cruise running around in both a suit and casual wear, but there’s more going on here than that.

While traditionally long-running movie series lose their way and start dragging in new concepts to try and keep things fresh, the M:I series have kept their focus firmly on a handful of core elements.

First: just about every instalment opens with Ethan Hunt (Cruise) either going rogue from the Impossible Mission Force or the whole IMF being shut down, and this is no different – though in a

nice touch, it’s the over-the-top antics of the previous film that have led to the CIA chief (Alec Baldwin) calling for their doors to be shuttered. That way Hunt can get all the cool gadgets the IMF have handy, without having to actually report in to anyone – nothing slows down an action film like having to keep your boss in the loop, and while Jeremy Renner’s character is nominally the guy in charge, his job is to run interference for Hunt back at HQ while Hunt has adventures.

Second: everything that isn’t a big action set-piece is stripped back as far as it can go. There’s some banter between the team members (Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames are on board as resident hackers) but all the character work is shifted onto femme fatale Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who may or may not be double-crossing everyone as an agent of The Syndicate, the IMF’s

evil twin. And most importantly: all the big action set-pieces are really good.

The tradition of ridiculously complex heists (it’s the only thing anyone remembers from the first film) continues here with a sequence requiring them to break into a computer vault underwater, there’s a three-way assassination in an opera house that just keeps on piling on the twists (and features a trombone that’s been turned into a sniper rifle), and even the more traditional car chases are handled by director Christopher McQuarrie with admirable skill and flair. Perhaps the most telling part of this extremely satisfying film is the way that Hunt, while clearly superhuman, isn’t invincible: the handful of moments where he’s caught off guard and left flailing go a long way towards humanising a guy seemingly immune to the effects of gravity.

Last Cab to Darwin Broken Hill taxi driver Rex (Michael Caton) tends to keep to himself. His relationship with his neighbour Polly (Ningali Lawford) is kept at arms length and his mates down the pub are just people he has a drink with. So when he’s told his cancer has returned and he only has weeks to live, he doesn’t make a big deal out of it. But something that is a big deal is the passing of euthanasia laws in the Northern Territory, and when he hears about it on the radio he figures he’d rather die on his own terms rather than fade away. So he sets off for Darwin in his taxi, picking up knockabout mechanic Tily (Mark Coles Smith) and holidaying nurse Julie (Emma Hamilton) along the way. But having himself put to death isn’t going to be as easy as knocking on a doctor’s door…

Despite taking full advantage of the outback landscape Rex travels through, this retains the confined

feel of its stage play origins, especially when it comes to the issue of euthanasia, and while the message here is a relatively subtle one – that often it can be loneliness that leads terminally ill people to look for a way out – it’s a blunt message nonetheless. It doesn’t shy away from Australia’s casual racism, nor the somewhat grim conditions found in the outback, and combined with Rex’s insular nature (which never quite conceals the pain he’s feeling, thanks to a solid performance from Caton) makes this fairly tough going in parts.

Fortunately the mood lifts a little with the arrival of Tily. While both he and Julie are largely clichés the casts strong performances make the trio entertaining road companions.

This is never really heart-warming viewing – it’s a film about a man who’s going to die, and the end result is never really in doubt – but it does have some interesting things to say along the way.

Sherlock Holmes’ crimesolving days are well behind him – it’s 1947 and he’s a beekeeper in Suffolk – but that doesn’t mean his past doesn’t have a few mysteries lying in wait for him in this revisionist take on the Great Detective (Ian McKellen).

Magic Mike XXL Everyone’s favourite male stripper troupe is back for a lazy road trip through America’s south, where chatting and bonding and making the ladies feel good are all top priorities – and a fun and often hilariously funny film is the result.

Terminator: Genisys This time-travelling robot franchise hasn’t had a winner since 1991, but unfortunately this isn’t about a bunch of film-makers going back 20 years to find a director who can make this work. Schwarzenegger still retains some of his classic charm though.

Ted 2 With less story but more sketch comedy interludes than the surprisingly effective first instalment, this manages to get laughs while never really satisfying as a film. Then again, how many stories can you tell around a foul-mouthed stoner teddy bear?

Jurassic World

The Gallows

Trainwreck Despite Amy Schumer being the big draw here – which is hardly surprising, as her sketch show Inside Amy Schumer (and more specifically, a handful of sketches from it that have been shared across the internet) have made her a massive star in a very short stretch of time. The important thing to keep in mind when watching Trainwreck is that this is a Judd Apatow film, and not just because he’s in the director’s seat: the whole approach here is textbook Apatow, and while this is easily his funniest film in a long while that’s not to say the flaws that sank Funny People and This is 40 aren’t still present.

Schumer plays Amy, a harddrinking New Yorker who has no problem with sleeping around but a big problem with still being 52 forte

around in the morning. She’s funny and relatable but probably not what you’d call likeable, which is a problem because in a battle between funny and likeable in an Apatow movie increasingly likeable is going to win out.

Enter Bill Hader as the sport surgeon Amy is assigned to write a story on by her boss (a terracottatanned Tilda Swinton) – he’s serious about relationships and swiftly becomes serious about her, which she likes and fears in equal measure and then pretty much all the funny drains out of this film as it becomes all about whether she can overcome her fears and embrace a real relationship – which is great for her but not exactly something an audience might care all that much about.

Apatow has been about finding the laughter in real emotion all the way back to his days working on

The Larry Sanders Show (a show that did it better than Apatow ever has), but increasingly the “real life” situations he’s drawn towards are bland ones involving the importance of maintaining a generic middle-class relationship in the face of personal issues like boredom and fear of intimacy.

These things can be funny but Apatow’s not the guy to do it – it often feels like he’d make a better film if he gave up on going for jokes and just focused on relationships – and his fondness for traditional relationships blunts what’s really funny here: Schumer playing a woman who isn’t interested in any of that. This is a good introduction to her work and many of the early scenes (especially the ones featuring C-list action star and wrestler John Cena as her lunkhead quasi-boyfriend) are hilarious – it’s just clear that she can do better.

Twenty years ago a high school play went horribly wrong when an accident resulted in one of the cast being hung live on stage. Seriously?

Who sets up a working gallows on stage for a play? Anyway, after 20 years the school decides it’s totally in the best possible taste to re-stage the play and promote it as everyone’s big chance to see how it all turns out when someone doesn’t interrupt things by dying. Trouble is, handicam toting idiot Ryan (Ryan Shoos) has finally taunted wooden leading man Reese (Reese Mishler) – a jock who only signed up for the play because he has a crush on theatre geek and co-star Pfeifer (Pfeifer Brown) – into sneaking into the building the night before the big day and trashing the set, thus avoiding the embarrassment of revealing to the school just how stiff an actor he is.

But when Ryan, his girlfriend Cassidy (Cassidy Gifford) and Reese sneak in, they quickly find that getting out alive is going to be a whole lot harder. If you thought

found-footage was a genre that was firmly played out then this will do nothing to change your mind, but if you pay extremely close attention it’s possible to detect a few areas where this doesn’t completely suck. For one, it at least makes some effort to set-up multiple explanations as to what’s going on.

Are the theatre geeks getting their revenge? Is it a ghost? Is one of them setting the others up? What’s the connection with the first death 20 years ago? And while this in no way sticks the landing, at least the multiple suspects keep the story slightly engaging. There are even a few genuinely creepy moments, especially during the brief sweet spot when it feels like this might be going for a more subtle, Blair Witch-type approach to building suspense (a sequence where they discover a series of strange tunnels is authentically eerie). But for the most part this blunders around failing to be much of anything: only an authentically hilarious (and extremely cheesy) end credits joke makes it worth sitting through to the end.

Dinosaurs! Sure, there are humans in this film too, but we all know it’s the dinosaurs that you want to see. And a good thing too, because all the human stuff here is firmly average at best.

Inside Out Pixar returns to their tearjerking best in this often very funny look at what happens inside a little girls head – basically there’s feelings, and those feelings have feelings, and a lot of those feelings can be pretty sad.

Minions A fast-paced comedy caper film (and prequel to Despicable Me) this often very silly film is pretty basic stuff – but that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun.

Far From the Madding Crowd This Thomas Hardy adaptation turns the source material into a relatively straightforward romantic drama, but the focus on the characters’ emotional lives makes the love triangle here come alive.

Music Reviews

Isaiah B Brunt

Eves the Behavior

Josh Pyke

Just the Way That It Goes

Self-titled

BUT FOR ALL THESE SHRINKING HEARTS

Independent

Dew Process/UMA

Wonderlick/Sony Music Australia

Well, well, well…what do we have here? Only some of the finest laidback blues I’ve heard in a long while. Sydney-based singer-songwriter and formidable guitarist Isaiah B. Brunt settled down in New Orleans to record this little gem. It’s his first purely electric release yet the feel is so strippedback and organic, you could imagine it was made in an out-of-town shack lit by a kerosene lamp.

Brunt wrote all nine tracks, taking care of production at the Louisiana Audiophile Studios. His vocals resemble a relaxed John Mayall. His sliding ‘70s Stratocaster sings effortlessly across the selection. Fine accompaniment is provided by two of Audiophile’s in-house players; Richard Bird on bass throughout and engineer David Stocker on Mellotron (‘Which Way To Go’). Completing the line up are New Orleans drummer Mark Whitaker, Mike Hood (piano, Hammond) and Kenny Claiborne (now there’s a good ol’ N’awlins name) on harmonica for ‘The River Runs High’ - a swampy killer. Piano and drums provide bass and bop notes to ‘Precious Stone’.

‘With A Kiss’ is a slow shuffle decorated with loose piano trills while ‘Lovers’ Blues’ features sophisticated George Benson-esque guitar. ‘Which Way To Go’ bids an ambling farewell - or ‘See ya later’ - with a minor key fade out. The Sydney Blues Society Performer of 2010 is set to tour the east coast and NZ. Reviewed by Chris Lambie

Debut anythings are exciting for musicians. As fans it gives us a chance to see how artists can translate that one hit song into an overall sound; the complete audial experience. Eves the Behavior has done just that with her self-titled release of dark-electro pop sounds.

The EP is essentially half made of tracks we’ve already come to love, the evolving ‘TV’ where Eves’ vocals waver in intensity to a steady and slow building beat. ‘Electrical’ is also featured on the EP, a track previously released. It’s perhaps a bit more gentle than ‘TV’, with almost a ‘fly through the mountains’ type elation to it.

As the fourth track is a remix of ‘TV’ by Warpaint, the only real new track to look forward to is ‘Digging’. It’s a darker number where the synth-pop sounds are held back until the track builds. Eves hums throughout and it gives an eery feel to the single, but her beautiful airy vocals are still present in this one which carry the track. It’s a bit of a slower number than the past two favourites but certainly a favourite in my eyes.

If you’re looking for an EP of entirely new releases, perhaps don’t hold your breath, but this new single is still well worth it and it’s nice to celebrate what the artist has already achieved in her career and this EP does just that.

Reviewed by Amanda Sherring

Instantly the opening track ‘Book of Revelations’ tells me that Josh Pyke has been exploring with a different sound. The first 30 seconds or so reminds me of a song likely to appear in the 1982 classic Blade Runnerwith its futuristic sounds, but don’t let that mislead you.

With Josh Pyke’s music you may often find yourself sitting alone, having a moment, contemplating your life or driving somewhere feeling overly empowered – this album is no different. A decade on from his first album Feeding The Wolves and multiple awards later,as you can imagine the pressure is on for Josh Pyke to produce an album that is unlike any other, enter But For All These Shrinking Hearts.

‘There’s a line’ starts with an urge of suspense, transitioning into recognisable guitar melodies but soon after breaks into a flurry of different instruments, not often heard in Josh Pyke’s songs, where as ‘Momentary Glow’ is drenched in warm guitar and perfectly layered vocals. ‘There’s a line line’ and ‘Momentary Glow’ were my favourite tracks on the album, duly because, although the album is full of experimental sounds and new found creativity, these songs stay true to Josh’s sound and great lyricism. I found these tracks to be reminiscent of Pyke’s older music combined with just the right amount of catchiness and chorus sing-a-long-ability.

Once again Josh Pyke’s mind has overflowed with creativity to create a record where all 11 songs on the album are individualistic, soothing and sure to captivate. With this renewed sense of creative freedom, partnered with the completion of his own backyard-recording studio, But For All These Shrinking Hearts the artist’s most polished work to date.

Reviewed by Jariah Travan

MT Warning

The Rubens

Cold War Kids

PETRIFIED HEART

HOOPS

FIVE QUICK CUTS

Create/Control

Ivy League

Create/Control & Downtown Records

Petrified Heart is the new EP from Mt Warning and the follow up to his debut album which was released last year. From Shepparton in regional Victoria, Mikey left to pursue his career in the big smoke. It may seem like a musical story we have heard all too often, however, it really has worked wonders for him. Since then he has supported the likes of Circa Waves and The Temper Trap and played at SXSW, Laneway and Splendour.

It’s easy to hear where Mt Warning is going with this new EP, it’s kinda like Vance Joy meets The Presets in a mellow electronic collaboration. For a moment when I was listening to the opening track ‘When It All Bleeds Out’ I thought I had accidentally clicked on a Bon Iver album. It’s blissful vocals that will warm your heart and put a smile on your face. I know that seems like it could be a little clichéd, just look this up on the internet you will soon see what I mean.

I don’t want to give too much away about this EP but it is blissful and you need it in your collection. Spotify gives you mood playlists and I think that Petrified Heart would definitely have a place on the easy Sunday morning coffee and relaxation playlist.

Reviewed by Tex Miller

Sophomore albums can be hard, especially after a successful first release like The Rubens had. There’s a lot of pressure and sadly too many bands don’t live up to the hype placed on them by the media, industry and their fans. It seems perfectly placed then that the first track opening the album is titled ‘Hallelujah’. It’s almost like a sigh of relief for creating a perfect follow up – which Hoops certainly is. the back of their mind the band wanted to create an album that was fun to play live, yet something that reflected their maturity and growth in their music. The album does just that and more, it’s fun yet has a sophisticated R&B tinged rock sound. ‘The Night Is On My Side’ is a fine example and stands as one of my favourites.

‘Hoops’ – in my opinion – will serve as the radio-hit favourite for the album. It’s a slow burner that erupts into the perfect sing-a-long kind of track. Having heard it recently at Splendour live I can vouch for the latter.

Other notable highlights came with ‘Bitter End’, the guitar-heavy ‘Battles’ and ‘Hold Me Back’. Overall it’s an album that’s proven the guys have all taken another step further in their careers, and one that’s doubly proven when they play the tracks live.

Reviewed by Amanda Sherring

Originally released as a limited edition 10” vinyl on Record Store Day this year, the Cold War Kids have shown the rest of us some love with the EP reproduction. It seems over the last few albums the band have been making some changes; whether conscious or not. In Five Quick Cuts we get a little glimpse of just that. There’s a stronger ‘80s synth vibe and heavy keys sounds and the general composition has shifted closer to that pop sound.

But it’s not a consistent change and there are still glimpses of the old Cold War Kids sound. The new ‘80s vibe can be heard in ‘Stop & Rewind’ but next off the bat ‘Amazing’ brings back the grungier style to the forefront. The importance is again placed on the lyrics and guitars and I can say I am very grateful for it! It’s a great track and one of the highlights on the album.

‘One Song At a Time’ meets somewhere in the middle of these two ideas. It’s a happy meeting place and one that gets the perfect blend of the ‘upperty’ sound while still scraping the bottom. Instrumental track ‘Portugese Bend’, while only lasting a minute, is weirdly my favourite part of the album and I wish it went much longer than it did.

Marking the fifth in Five Quick Cuts is ‘Thunder Hearts’ and it’s just a nice all-rounder to close things off. If there’s any qualm it’s that perhaps there’s too much variance mixed into the five tracks, but I guess they are quick after all and they come best even as stand alone numbers. Reviewed by Amanda Sherring forte 53

Last Words

grog watch Tony “Tony Montana” Montana

So last week some guy came to my door trying to sell me training for a new career. Of course I told him to hit the bricks, as what could possibly be a better career than drunkenly ranting about nothing week after week in a free paper? But because he seemed like an actual person – you know what I mean, nine times out of 10 the people who come to the door trying to sell stuff are either so obviously working off a script that they might as well be a shop dummy with a note pinned to their chest or they’re the kind of flirty person that you just want to shut the door on before they break your heart – and because I hadn’t been out to the mailbox in a few days, I walked

him off the ground of Grogwatch Manor. As we walked down the drive he asked me what I did for a living that was so awesome I wasn’t interested in doing a retraining course so prestigious it was being sold door-to-door. While I wanted to tell him I spent my days sitting at home watching the movie with the best title of all time – that would be Door-to-Door Maniac – I figured I’d tell him the truth, and so said I worked at Forte Magazine. Now usually this is the kind of comment that earns me an opportunity to refresh the portion of my memory banks labelled “blank stare”, but this guy’s face lit all the way up: “Forte! I used to pick that up every fortnight!” he said excitedly, and I felt a warm glow of pride that our work had touched at least one person in this fair city. “Is that still going?” he said.

I nodded, the glow fading. “Hey, listen,” he said, “I got a question: do you know that Tony Montana guy?”

When I told this story to a friend later that day, though I was pretty drunk by then so I may have just been slurring at a mirror or passing dog, they said, “You must get asked that a lot”. Which is the kind of statement that seems to make sense until you actually think about it for a single solitary second: why would anyone assume that I, a person they have just met in their daily life, knows who “Tony Montana” is? Are there roving gangs wandering the streets asking everyone they meet, “Are you Tony Montana?” Obviously not, which is why my friend clarified themselves by saying what they really meant was “you must have a snappy answer to that question after all these years”. And again I had to drunkenly splutter “why?” It’s simply not a question that has ever really come up over the years – even when I said to people that I work for Forte they pretty much never ask about Tony Montana, and on the rare

occasions that they have they seem to have always assumed – presumably because I was standing upright at the time and not lying face-down in a gutter clutching an empty bottle of vodka in each hand – that I wasn’t him. “Do you know that Tony Montana guy?” was seriously and honestly the closest I’d ever come to having a stranger ask me if I was the guy who writes the boozy crap that has been clogging up the pages of Forte pretty much ever since it began; just as honestly, I didn’t know what to say.

Back when I started writing this crap the whole idea of using a pen name was because everyone at Forte used pen names, because there was only a handful of people writing for Forte and the boss wanted to pretend he had a bigger staff. Then once this column turned out to be a lot of drunken ravings it seemed like a really good idea to keep my real name off it. And then once it

turned out that my dreams of being an honest and upright member of society – basically, someone who should be ashamed of writing this drivel – were never going to come true, well, it just seemed easier to keep up the pretence. Not that it was a particularly useful pretence: back when I started using the name “Tony Montana”, Scarface was a fairly obscure gangster film – thanks, generations of hip-hop artists for ruining that for me – which meant that on the rare occasions when I might have been able to build some kind of online empire (or even just taken this column to new pastures), the plan swiftly fell apart once all involved realised that my pen name simply wouldn’t work in any other context. So if I ever did anything outside of Forte, it wasn’t as “Tony Montana”: he was a Forte feature, and there (occasional appearances in Forte’s fellow publications aside) he was going to stay. Really then,

there was no reason not to confess to this guy that I was the drunken stumblebum he was looking for. These days there’s no reason not to print my real name here at the end of this very column. The days when various bottle shops were after me are long gone, and the friends I slandered here stopped reading this years ago. But what would be the fun in that? So I just told the salesman I never saw that Montana guy in my life, grabbed the bottle of vodka I’d left in my mailbox, took a big swig out of it and sent him on his way. And that’s the end of that.

Splendour in the Grass Byron Bay, July 24-26 Splendour is almost like one of those enigmas of a festival, yes, there’s the standard stock of festival goers with their gypsyesque get-ups, the greasy burgers that are your lifesavers in between sets and those few angry guys who just don’t seem to fit in, but there’s something ultimately different about Splendour. Maybe it’s the Byron Bay vibe, the remainder of Blues Fest lurking in the venue or the quality line up. I like to think I’ve been to a lot of festivals over the years and a variety of them, but Splendour has just become my favourite.

Each year it’s hard to fault the line up and 2015 was no exception, but the map and overall execution of the festival is equally impressive.

Elaborate bars constructed to look like ships, castles and quirky corners scatter the map and would be almost entertaining enough the spend the whole weekend at (I’m sure many attenders did) if it weren’t for the calibre of musicians at the festival. The food was on point, those donuts, and the craft tent and speakers tent enabled for a break if you needed it. But what we all came for was the music.

Let me start off by saying I had to miss the Sunday night and I hate myself for it and don’t ever want to talk about it again, but from what I saw the prior two days I could remain 90% satisfied.

DZ Deathrays (the last minute addition replacing Catfish and the Bottlemen) sidled in easily and made the amphitheatre their own.

Client Liason proved their rapidly increasing following and filled out the BLANK stage. Highlights for the Friday also came with The Rubens, Porter Robinson, Peking Duk and of course Mark Ronson – if it weren’t for the pouring rain he would have kept a massive crowd.

Saturday saw pretty flawless sets from The Smith Street Band (loving the hand painted ‘Real Australians Say Welcome’ backdrop the band had), The Grates, Meg Mac, Pond and Best Coast. Easily the highlight, and main draw-cards for the day, were The Wombats and Florence and the Machine. The Amphitheatre was the fullest it had been the whole weekend and the energy was unlike any I’d experienced at a festival. Both bands played an impressive set, though my heart can’t fault that of Florence Welch’s appearance.

From the very start she pranced around on stage utilising the whole space whilst dressed in her glowing white outfit (I’m sure I heard someone in the crowd liken her to an angel, swear it) and she constantly interacted with the crowd. Getting everyone up and dancing for whatever song it may have been. There’s almost too much to sum up in one smallish article, but be sure that if you’re thinking of heading to Splendour next year, do it. You will not regret it, though I advise you get yourself a pair of gumboots, after all this year was crowned as Splendour in the mud.

Reviewed by Amanda Sherring

54 forte

Client Liason (photo: Justin Ma)

photo: Bianca Holderness

DZ Deathrays (photo: Ian Laidlaw)

Florence and the Machine (photo: Stephen Booth)

Peking Duk (photo: Justin Ma)

The Rubens (photo: StephenBooth)

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