b a l l a r at bell arine
M u s i c
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ARTS
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Bendigo castlemaine
geelong & surf coast wa r r n a m b o o l
CULTURE
“ This reunion is a way of saying thanks to our fans...” F e at u r e S to ry – PG. 14
+ Local:
ARTS:
Pivot Summit – PG. 40 food:
Bronx Juice Co. – PG. 34
10 / 11 / 2016 FREE
The Heartache State – PG. 22
II Intro
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Intro III
3rd December Geelong Barwon Club
IV Intro
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Intro V
New Year’s Eve
Recovery Day
Lounge Lizards
Righteous Desmond
Buxom Blues
Chris Wilson Band
The Andy Layfield Sound
Geoff Achison and the Souldiggers
Sweet Felicia and the Tradies
Sammy Owen Band
Dec 31-2016 6pm-1am
Jan 1-2017 11am-5pm
HouseWreckers Two Day Festival Ticket
Recovery Day Admission
General: $110 online $100 Members: $95 online $85 Concession: $100 online $90 Junior (15-17): $40 Under 15’s: FREE
Adults: $55 Concession: $45 Junior (15-17): $10 Under 15’s: FREE
Tickets available from: Sleepy Hollow Blues Club Sunday Sessions at Geelong Trades Hall Mail bookings: Sleepy Hollow Blues Club PO Box 1928, Geelong, 3220 Gate tickets: At Festival gate from 10am on December 31st 2016 Online: Web address below or scan QR code to the left Phone: 0490 392 676
Gates open 10am 31 Dec! due to permit requirements. Strictly no access prior! Can’t bring: BYO, Glass or Dogs Drinks available: Beer, spirits, wine, soft drinks, ice water, etc. Food available: A wide range of hot/cold food and coffee/tea will be available Camping for ticket holders: On a smooth, grassy surface, close to the festival arena with plenty of shade.
TOTAL FIRE BAN AND TOTAL FIREWORKS BAN ALL UNDER 18’s MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT PROOF OF AGE MAY BE REQUIRED CONCESSION APPLIES TO FULL-TIME STUDENTS, AGED AND DISABILITY PENSIONERS
PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
SLEEPY HOLLOW BLUES CLUB WWW.SLEEPYHOLLOWBLUES.CLUB
VI Intro
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Intro VII
VIII Intro
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Intro IX
M u s i c
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The Know Feature Story The Loop Local Feature Local Food Arts Columns
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CULTURE
12–13 14 16 –21 22 24 –33, 35–39 34 40 – 41 42
Reviews
46 – 47
Scenepix
48 – 49
PH: 03 5229 7969 2/105 Skene St, VIC 3220 enquiries@Fortémag.com.au
Another issue, another step closer to Christmas. Good news comes with Bottles & Barrels making a craft beer advent calendar – there are sure to be a few of those getting opened in the Forté office.
Publisher Furst Media Pty. Ltd. Editor-in-chief Amanda Sherring
This issue I’m really proud to say we have Killing Heidi on the front cover. They were a pretty important band for my awkward teen years and I think the same can be said for many of you out there, given their 20-year anniversary show at Queenscliff Music Festival has been so well received. We spoke to both Jesse and Ella of the band, you can read up on it on page
amanda@Fortémag.com.au @amanda_sherring
Win!
Win a double pass to River Rocks festival featuring MonkeyWrench, Six Ft. Hicks, and Warped at the Barwon Club on November 19th To enter: Email your name, number, and code word ‘RIVERROCKS’ to: amanda@Fortémag.com.au.
Further in we chat with the folk behind the Great Australian Beer festival (making its fifth return this year), Boy & Bear, The Pretty Littles and more. With the next few weeks loaded until the New Year, I’ll be operating in cruise control for the next few months.
Fortégram Tag us @Fortémag_ or #Fortémag to be featured!
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X Intro
caitlin@Fortémag.com.au
Editorial Assistant Talia Rinaldo
talia@Fortémag.com.au
Art Director Riley McDonald Intern Melissa Davis
Amanda & the Forté Team
The Guide
Advertising Executive Caitlin Haddad
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Contributors Anthony Morris, Alastair McGibbon, Amanda Sherring, Andrew Pretorius, Cameron Brogden, Chris Lambie, Daniel Lock, Emily Hurst, Dr John Lamp, Natalie Rogers, Paul S Taylor, Tex Miller, Wylie Caird, Jessica Morris, Jariah Travan Advertisers and agents are advised that all advertising copy is their responsibility under the trade practices act. Advertisements are published in good faith and on the understanding that the content is legitimate and lawful. Advertisers and or agents submit advertisements at their own risk. The editor and creators hold no responsibility whatsoever for the content of the magazine in the case that it may offend. Forté accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions. Forté reserves the right to edit all articles and letters.
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Intro XI
Jerry Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld announces first Melbourne show since 1988 appearances. Set for Hisense Arena on August 6.
PJ Harvey PJ Harvey hits Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on January 21.
Love Live Music at the ‘G For what’s set to be the biggest and most unique music events happening at one of our finest sporting centres, Love Live Music at the ‘G is the mini festival as part of Melbourne Music Week. With more than 15 acts, the line up features The Delta Riggs, The Pierce Brothers, the Pretty Littles and more. It all goes down on November 13.
12 The Know
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Pleasure Garden festival reveals arts line up As well as offering a killer music lineup, Pleasure Garden is proving that it’s so much more than just a day of sweet tunes. Adding to the festivities comes mind-blowing roving performers, artists, and purveyors of wonder and awe – as well as some tasty food. Leading the charge come Kinetic Theatre offering a giant hairy snail and an impish rider from a realm aeons away. Havana Palava will be dropping an eclectic mix of African and Caribean gypsy blues, Empress Stiltdance will be undertaking the most impressive feats on stilts you’ve ever seen, while The Huxley’s will be serving up a healthy dose of glam surrealism. It all goes down at Catani Gardens, St Kilda on Saturday December 10.
Thrash, Blast And Grind Festival unveils heavy-hitting full line up King Parrot are headlining, with Psycroptic, American death metal giants Revocation, Whoretopsy, and Black Rheno following them up. Not to mention a local band will kick off the madness in each city. Thrash, Blast and Grind Fest will shred Max Watt’s on Friday February 17.
Blondie and Cyndi Lauper join forces in Australian first They co-headline Rod Laver Arena on Thursday April 6 and play Rochford Wines on Saturday April 8 as part of A Day On The Green.
Melbourne Music Bank winner announced After another year of fierce competition and some serious talent, the winner of this year’s Melbourne Music Bank has been revealed as folk act Tempus Sun. The Moonee Ponds outfit scored a career-making prize worth over $60,000, including studio time with a producer, mixing and mastering engineers to record an EP, concept design, production, filming and editing of two film clips, 500 CD copies of the EP, a radio plugger, manager and booking agent, media training and styling, On The Map PR services for a month, an east coast tour and a spot at the legendary Beyond The Valley music festival.
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The Know 13
Killing Heidi and never saying never – Written by Amanda Sherring
v e r th e pa st two decades we’ve entered the world of Facebook, enjoyed the convenience of smart phones and seen the formation, end and now reunion of one of Australia’s finest brother-sister bands, Killing Heidi. Coincidentally, the band’s creation arose the same year Queenscliff Music Festival put on its first event to a crowd of 1460 people. “I think it took a good break to want to do [Killing Heidi] again. Queenscliff Music Festival certainly seemed like a good catalyst,” Jesse Hooper says of the reunion. “For me it was an overwhelming feeling of the time being right… it’s just too perfect that our 20-year anniversary as a band coincides with QMF’s! We took it as a bit of a sign I think,” Ella Hooper adds. The duo performed their first show in 1996 in their hometown at the Violet Town Arts and Music festival, Ella aged 13 and Jesse 15. It was at this very event the brother-sister pair were spotted by Jamie Durrant of Benalla’s Bent Records performing Smashing Pumpkin covers and originals. Realising their potential,
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I feel like I’ve grown so much as a bandleader from going solo and I can’t wait to bring that confidence and experience back to Killing Heidi after all these years. It’s so enriching.
he hastily offered them recording time in his studio. As a result ‘Morning’ and ‘Kettle’ were recorded and released, with the band co-winning triple j unearthed for the Goulburn Valley region after the singles were released. A slot at Melbourne’s Big Day Out festival in 2000 (in which Ella celebrated her 17th birthday and fans reportedly broke two water pipes trying to get a vantage point to see the band) solidified the band’s rising popularity and their debut studio album Reflector hit number one on the ARIA charts that same year. The misfits from Violet Town had gained commercial recognition. “I thought we were an outsider band, and we were!” Ella says, before continuing. “We started as a grunge/folk duo, with really melodic yet depressing songs (that’s how 90’s teens rolled!). Then [we] grew into a pretty heavy-frenetic, poprock band. All the flavours and the styling were so intense I am still amazed that so many, including the mainstream, connected with it. “Still, it’s that community of misfits that make us really appreciate Killing Heidi, and what it meant/means to people. This reunion is a way of saying
thanks to our fans, those awesome misfits, too.” Two albums later, multiple awards and stints across the world, in 2006 Killing Heidi announced via a MySpace post the band were taking a break, stating: “We are taking a break from Killing Heidi for a while but do not see this as a break up!” Also admitting that after nine years of making music as a band they wanted to shake things up and enter into different creative avenues. One such project was The Verses, a folk duo made up of Ella and Jesse. “I think it was healthy to step into new musical identities, The Verses was such a different place sonically and song wise,” Jesse says. Years later and the duo have each developed respected solo careers, with Jesse also entering into the world of teaching as Collarts’ head of music performance. “I try to distil 20 years’ worth of successes and mistakes into the music course at Collarts,” Jesse says. “I wish I had an industry course like ours when I was young for sure.” As for Ella, she honed her craft as a soloist as well as lending her name, experience and face to the likes of the
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Melbourne Music Bank competition, Spicks and Specks and the Telstra Road to Discovery, all the while denying the likelihood of ever having a Killing Heidi reunion. “I should have listened to the old adage, never say never! But I didn’t. I said never,” Ella says with a laugh. “I have grown a lot from going solo, and being in several different musical outfits since Killing Heidi. I think because Jesse and I started so young we were always going to crave a change at some point. But, we just love working together too. We will always have a very deep musical connection as well as a familial one,” Ella says. “I feel like I’ve grown so much as a bandleader from going solo and I can’t wait to bring that confidence and experience back to Killing Heidi after all these years. It’s so enriching.” While both Jesse and Ella have developed skills in the industry following their time as Killing Heidi, it’s still up to Jesse to organise his sister. “[It’s] still impossible,” Jesse jokes of organising Ella. “Hey, I’ve gotten better! I think,” Ella adds. “Only always a little bit late. Better than a lot late, right??”
When & Where: Killing Heidi perform on Friday night of Queenscliff Music Festival, which goes down November 25-27.
Cover and above image by Wilk
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16 The Loop
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Loop
b a l l a r at bell arine
The Heartache State
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Bendigo castlemaine
geelong & surf coast wa r r n a m b o o l
“I have no illusions of taking over the world or selling millions of records, but as an artist, you’re dedicated to your craft and you wouldn’t want to leave and think, ‘I wish I’d pushed a bit further’,” Lo ca l f e at u r e – PG. 22
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A Silver Lining Little Wise is celebrating the release of her debut album, Silver Birch, with a healthy run of dates throughout November and December. The pseudonym of Melbourne-based songstress Sophie Klein, Little Wise has already independently released two EPs. Living the life of a travelling musician, Little Wise will swing by Martians Café, Deans Marsh on November 25. She will be joined by Rosie Burgess.
Highway Patrol More than two decades later doing that thing they do, The Living End’s stamina remains as impressive as ever. It has been a pretty good year for the band (they dropped a new album back in May), but they already have their sights set on 2017 by announcing a bunch of dates littered with small to medium-sized venues. The Staring Down the Highway tour takes them to Geelong’s Wool Exchange Entertainment Complex on March 30 next year.
ADOTG If you haven’t yet made plans for this weekend, tickets remain for the Aussie flavoured A Day on the Green. Held at Mt Duneed Estate this Saturday, November 12, the red carpet is being rolled out for You Am I, Something for Kate, Spiderbait, Jebediah and The Meanies. Although each band has its own chapter in Australia’s big rock and roll book, this is the first time all bands have shared the same stage at the same time.
The Sixth Sense Earlier this year, country songwoman Sara Storer released her sixth album, Silos. A couple of years prior, in 2014, Sarah picked up three Golden Guitar Awards for her album Lovegrass. She would also relocate from Darwin to Albury, in order to be closer to family. It has been a few years since the singer-songwriter extensively visited regional Australia, but she’s cooking with gas now. The Gateway Hotel, Corio – November 18.
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Down by the River
Your Card Is…
The River is alive with the sound of music. Geelong’s River Rocks takes place shortly, and tickets are still floating around. Headlined by The Monkeywrench, the almighty rock-out also features Hits, Six Ft Hick, Dirtclodfight, Warped, Totally Unicorn, The Ruiner, Blood Sucking Freaks, Peeping Tom, Clever, You Beauty, The Meatbeaters, Grindhouse, Poppin Mommas and much, much more. The Barwon Club, Geelong – November 19.
A number of The Loop venues will be treated to the World Festival of Magic tour. Having been a part of the touring circuit for more than two decades, the World Festival of Magic is the longest-running international magic show of its kind. Performers include illusionist Michael Boyd and comic magician Marty Putz. Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo – November 20; Founders Theatre, Ballarat – November 21; and The Arena, Geelong – November 22.
Advance Australia Rock The National Anthem has been given a makeover by The Drop Bears, who have announced their debut album tour titled Girt by Rock. They describe themselves as ’60s punk or, more accurately, as sounding like “The Kinks being spanked by Nirvana as The Rolling Stones and Jet throw melons at them, whilst The Killers and The Strokes squirt them all with a fire-hose as David Bowie looks on and applauds.” Torquay Hotel, Torquay – December 27.
The Company Men Best known as the songwriter and frontman for country rock and rollers The Re-mains, Mick Daley has been playing music for more than twenty years. He also has around the same years of experience as a journalist, and in 2010 completed a degree of Honours in Media at SCU, Lismore (it pays to have a fall-back career). Along with his Corporate Raiders, Mick hits The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine tomorrow night, November 11.
Thinking Positive Since his 2011 Melbourne Youth in Blues award win, Geelong-based troubadour Alister Turrill has put together a pretty fine musical resume. It is possible that ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ has been buzzing around his head, as the songman is thrilled to raise a glass to his new EP, A Toast to Better Times. The Workers Club, Geelong – November 18. Alister will be joined by Nathan Seeckts and Sean Patrick.
Rock in the Vines 3BO and Sutton Grange Winery have teamed up to present Rock in the Vines, a ten-pack of Aussie legends that will feed the entire family. Held at Sutton Grange Winery on January 27, 2017, the line-up features Ross Wilson, Richard Clapton, 1927, Kids in the Kitchen, Uncanny X-Men, Dale Ryder (Boom Crash Opera), John ‘Swanee’ Swan, Steve Kilbey (The Church), Wendy Matthews and The Chantoozies.
Ausocalypse III Early bird tickets are available for one of Australia’s premier regional metal events, Ausocalypse. Taking place at Bendigo’s Music Man on January 28, 2017, the third instalment will roll out three stages to play host to Dreadnaught, Frankenbok, Alarum, Pegazus, In Malice’s Wake, Malakyte, Laceration Mantra, Hybrid Nightmares, Espionage and Requiem, plus a whole stack more. Tickets are available through Moshtix.
Know Your Limitations Tickets remain for Boy and Bear’s outing at Costa Hall tomorrow night, November 11, as part of their ‘Limit of Love’ regional tour. The tour supports the band’s 2015 album of the same name, their third studio effort and one recorded with heavyweight producer Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket). If you hustle, the band also has a show tonight, November 10, at Bendigo’s Ulumbarra Theatre.
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↑↑ New Year on the Pier As the year marches on to its close, New Year’s Eve events are popping up left, right and centre. Geelong’s New Year’s on the Pier is a pretty sweet option for those in the area, and this year welcomes the cool sounds of Timmy Jude Smith, better known as Timmy Trumpet. JDG and Jesse James, plus a selection of local DJs will also perform. Ticket price includes 10 drinks and finger food. Tickets are available through thepiergeelong.com.au.
Tickle Me Pink Aaron Gocs, Angus Gordon (Raw Comedy winner, 2015), Matt Stewart (RAW Comedy winner, 2014), the multitalented Nick Capper and Jess Perkins (RAW Comedy finalist, 2015) have teamed up for shows at Ballarat’s Babushka Lounge tonight, November 10, and Geelong’s Workers Club on November 11. It’s the Amazing Travelling Comedy Tour, where if you can find a better comedy deal, they’ll beat it by ten per cent.
O Holy Night The darling duo of Holy Holy has kicked off their Darwinism tour, named in support of their new single, and a couple of Forté dates take place this weekend. They’re going to be at Geelong’s Workers Club on Saturday night, November 12, while as previously mentioned, The Karova in Ballarat will play host on Sunday, November 13. In the lead-up to the festival, the band hinted that they have developed and expanded their sound.
Enemy at the Gates A product of Queens NYC, Sworn Enemy’s early releases came under the moniker of Mindset. Another band shared the same name, so rather than fight for the title they switched their name to Sworn Enemy. Their debut full-length release, 2003’s As Real as It Gets, is considered a NYHC classic. Aussie fans have been waiting very patiently for a tour, and have finally been rewarded. The Barwon Club, Geelong – November 17.
Stamp Out A nd A bout Itchy Feet
Making Friends as Adults in 2016
A multi-genre enigma, 8Foot Felix is lovingly crafted from gypsy, ska and funk roots, with the added luxuries of sea shanties, hip-hop and blues elements. They began life in Melbourne’s inner north in 2011 and in 2013 embarked on a UK tour. Other highlights include performing at Burning Man festival. With a knack for theatrics, 8Foot Felix have a date locked in at Theatre Royal, Castlemaine on November 26.
Stampsy is the Music Director and Drive Announcer at K Rock in Geelong
“OMG, hello!” Samantha spots me outside the Meet The Maker’s Market in Westfield. She comes towards me with open arms. Her smile makes me smile. She gives me the biggest, warmest hug. It’s a greeting you’d expect from a high school friend or your sister. To be honest, I am guessing that’s how sisters hug. I only have a brother and I still have the scar where he threw a Nintendo controller at me when I beat him on Rainbow Road. I had Luigi. I shouldn’t have won. So Samantha, the face and the energy behind Geelong Women In Business, is just like her Instagram account. Passionate, supportive and encouraging. She’s a big advocate for building a community of strong, empowered women and her energy is infectious. Her love for our community is inspiring. I know all this about her. Except, this is the first time I’ve met Samantha face to face. It was Instagram that introduced us. “I feel like I already know you,” Sam says. It’s true. Instagram allowed us into each other’s lives. We’ve been able to congratulate each other’s successes, and laugh at the hilarity of life on a cloudy day. “Let’s ACTUALLY do a coffee soon,” I pitch. I love a good catch up over a drink. Guess what? It’s the second time this has happened to me this year. Amarra from Rare Birds Co sees me before I see her. I’m walking across the courtyard of Deakin campus when she calls out my name. This beautiful soul had already taken the time to suggest a great acupuncturist to aid the recovery of my recent surgery. She also suggested some cafes across Geelong that I should try on my next day off. “I hope this is not weird, I just saw you and wanted to introduce myself. How did the acupuncturist go?”. Instagram again. Bringing Geelong people together. I’m in awe. This woman had the confidence to break down the wall between online and reality and unite our worlds. I am in love with Instagram on a whole new level now. It was once a place to share my day with my besties. To upload a selfie or laugh at how I ended up with avocado in my hair! Now, it’s creating new friends and continues to be a place for support and encouragement. So, thank you Insta. Because of you, I am surrounding myself with people who are welcoming me into their world. They are inspiring me to grow, challenging me to become a better version of me and showing me it’s ok to make mistakes. We pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and look forward to the sun rising tomorrow. I guess this is how adults make friends in 2016. And I’m more popular than ever with three coffee dates to organise.
Only the Young
↑↑ Aireys Pub Saturday nights at Aireys Pub is where you will find a whole lot of music going on. This Saturday, November 12, you have Tin Alley. November 19 welcomes John Braka, while Tully on Tully take the stage on November 19. December is just as good, with Victoriana Gaye locked in for December 3. Risq, featuring Altiyan Childs, hits the venue on December 10, while Beachniks Trio find a home on December 17.
Aus Music Festival The Aus Music Festival Warrnambool has been deferred, with the committee currently working on new dates. With an aim to “create an authentic, self-sustainable cultural event; relevant to our region, history and environs,” the festival made its debut in 2015. At the time of writing no further details were available, but be sure to keep an eye on ausmusicfestival.com.au or facebook. com/ausmusicfestivalwarrnambool.
An Impelling Force Warrnambool’s rising star Cooper Lower will release his debut full-length album, Impetus, on November 20 and will support it with back-to-back shows at local venue The Loft across November 19 (18+) and November 20 (all-ages). Cooper: “On this day, a project that has consumed the past twelve months of my life will come to a grinding halt, and the Impetus LP will be freed from the confines of my bedroom walls.”
Beltane Festival Three dates of stupendous entertainment in on offer at this weekend’s Beltane Festival. Taking place from November 11 to November 13 at Wolfgang Palace, Nalangil (near Colac), the festival is thrilled to welcome performers including 8Foot Felix, Vibraphonic Orkestra, Dub Princess & Wonqi Rose, Wolfgang Theatre Company, TrickBox, Erik Parker and Kali Rhythm. Search Beltane 2016 through Facebook for further information.
There is often a lot of work that goes on behind recording that we wouldn’t realise. For the past fiveand-a-half years, the Marrma’ Rom Foundation has been a guiding hand for singer-songwriter Yirrmal, both on his educational journey and music career. In exciting news, Yirrmal has delivered his debut EP Young Blood, and will launch it at Geelong’s Waterfront Kitchen tomorrow night, November 11, and Theatre Royal, Castlemaine on December 9.
Grand Temple With five songs clocking in at the 44-minute mark, Holy Serpent’s Temples is a value-for-song album if ever there was one. Frontman, Scott Penberthy: “We’ve found playing slow all the time got a tad boring so we’ve mixed it up a bit with tempo changes and added more parts to make them sort of flow like a story.” The Vine, Bendigo – November 11. They’ll be joined by Killerbirds, Hollywood Real Thoughts and more.
Learning Languages Toward the end of September, Melbourne-via-Warrnambool songman Brady James made a Facebook post detailing his decision to turn his back on the nine-to-five world and step inside the world of a full-time musician. His latest offering and step in his brave new world is Dead Language, produced by Forrester Savell (The Butterfly Effect, Twelve Foot Ninja, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus) and P.T Parcel. The Loft, Warrnambool – November 18.
Stampsy does her thing on Twitter and Instagram @only1stampsy
Lovingly hand poured and made to order www.shirlyjcollection.bigcartel.com
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CL ASSIFIEDS Send your info to: enquiries@ Fortémag.com.au
Summer Lovin’
For individual use only,
You may recall that earlier in the year Mat McHugh embarked on a lengthy tour, a rescheduled run of dates following a period of rehabilitation that was a result of a nasty accident. The six-million dollar music man seems to be doing A-ok now and has announced a bunch of dates for early 2017. In two-piece mode, the ‘High Up Summer’ tour hits the Torquay Hotel on February 17.
not for commercial purposes.
Rural Youth Forum: Turning Ideas into Action It’s all about young people It’s been a heck of year, and it feels like no matter where you turn you just can’t escape the politics of the world. With the recent Australian election and the current US election, it’s increasingly feeling like as a young person you just can’t be heard. The Youth Affairs Council Victoria have partnered with the Victorian Government to deliver a series of youth forums across regional Vic so you can have your say. It’s all about young people turning ideas into action and the best part is you don’t have to be a mini politician in order to do it. These forums are going to help determine the agenda of the inaugural Youth Summit next year, which will then advise the Government on priority issues for today’s young people. It’s a win for regional based youth, plus the forums have free pizza and give-aways. Free pizza and changing the world? It’s a win for us.
Guitarist looking for band Influences – Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Metallica, Slayer. Very keen. Been playing for 30 years and looking to start a covers band but am willing to work on originals. Goal is to play at the Aireys Inlet music festival next year. I can’t sing and play at the same time so I need a singer, bass player and drummer and maybe a second guitarist (preferably one that can sing). Am currently studying a music production course so I can do recordings and live mixes. Please contact Richard on 0477484205. Band PA and lighting gear for sale. Gibson Hummingbird, Fender guitar amp and Pearl Sessions 6 piece drum kit. Power amps, graphic equalisers, crossover and processor. Speakers including JBL high frequency drivers, some par cans and moving lights. For prices call Andrew 0412 350 690 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.
For more information visit: www.yacvic.org.au/news/events
Desperate & Dateless Like A capella and tragic dating stories? Well girl group Ginger and Tonic are bringing their gorgeous harmonies and catastrophic dating stories to Ballarat with their award winning show Desperate and Dateless. Having performed at festivals around Australia (Melbourne Cabaret, Adelaide Fringe) and toured Germany, the girls are returning to one of their home-towns, Ballarat, for a night of pizza, wine and laughs.
It’s ‘Pitch Perfect’ meets ‘Bridget Jones,’ with a mix of original, cover and parody songs – perfect for a night out with the girls. With four beautiful women, an abundance of comedic and musical talent – it’s a wonder they have any dating disasters at all.
When & Where: Housey Housey, Ballarat, November 18 & 19, 6:30 pm book at: www.trybooking. com/NCHD
1. Leaving Home
Tim Hulsman Five moments that have shaped my music career
The best decision I ever made in my life was to leave home and learn to stand on my own two feet. It was hard, and not entirely my choice to be cut off from my family, but in retrospect, it was a great character building situation and freed me up to create my art and shape my own identity. It also provided me with plenty of material to write about, and gain confidence in myself to handle the many challenging situation that were to arise in my life.
2. Learning about Business
When & Where: Babushka Lounge, Ballarat – December 16 & The Workers Club, Geelong – December 17, Saints & Sailors and Real Music – November 19 20 The Loop
Some of the most valuable moments that have shaped my career were actually outside of the music industry. I participated in business studies and ran my own carpentry business for four years between 2010 and 2014, and that taught me so much that I’d never understood before - about how the world of money and business works. The light bulbs finally switched on in my brain when I realized that everything I had learned from that entrepreneurial venture could be applied to the music industry. Soon after that I reset my career
↓↓ Also taking place in: Bairnsdale
16 Nov
Ballarat
22 Nov
Bendigo
23 Nov
Dunkeld
24 & 25 Nov
Wangaratta
30 Nov
Shepparton
01 Dec
Port Fairy
07 Dec
and basically started from scratch here in Geelong in 2013. (I’d already released two independent records with little or no success.)
3. Dead Man’s Garden - Album Tour In 2014 I released my third independent album Dead Man’s Garden and I was privileged to work with a great publicist Annie Johnsson to make the tour a success. The album charted at number 18 on the Australian Blues & Roots Airplay Charts in its debut month. That resulted in me being invited to play at several music festivals and increased album sales and raised my artist profile in the industry. I learned a lot about how important publicity is to an artist and became much more self sufficient through that process.
4. Finding the Right Team In late 2013, I met a person who would help shape the next couple of years in ways I had not expected. Will Cook (from Geelong visual design company UP Creative) and I hit it off immediately, and our conversations quickly
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expanded into a vibrant creative relationship. We have now done many projects together, including most of my photographic portfolio and video content since 2013. We are still meeting regularly and working on concepts far into the future. You only need to look at my album art, merchandise and web presence to understand how he has helped shape my brand and deliver a consistent, high level of quality and integrity in the visual element of my products.
↑↑ It’s time to light up Geelong for Christmas Geelong’s infamous floating Christmas tree makes its return with a magnificent “light up” celebration on Friday, November 11. There’ll be entertainment at the Carousel on the Waterfront from 7.30pm with a performance from local talent Imogen Brough and Sophie Katos at 8.30pm. As for the light show, the Christmas tree and fireworks both kick off at 9pm. The celebration marks one of the best times of year and is a perfect night to gather a group of family and friends to mark the occasion. Merry Christmas all!
5. Alex Legg Memorial Foundation Scholarship 2015 In December 2015, my spirits were buoyed and my waning confidence rekindled by the surprise decision by the ALMF to unanimously nominate me as the inaugural recipient of a 12 month scholarship and grant of $3000. I was amazed and truly honoured to have the support of a board of veteran musicians and industry experts who believed in me and recognized the hard work I had been putting in behind closed doors to build my career and refine my song writing and production skills.
↑↑ Pivot Connect is coming to Geelong Pivot Connect is the event helping bring Geelong into the 21st century. The one day event takes place on Saturday, December 3 and hopes to bring together thought leaders, innovators, digital pioneers and businesses from across the globe. When they join forces they’ll be discussing all things digital, technology, entrepreneurship and business, while hoping to engage people on aspects of science, technology, arts and mathematics. To find out more information or purchase tickets, visit the website: http://www.pivotsummit.com.au
Ball arat Blog
Three Fingers of Karova This weekend, treat yourself to three fingers of Karova magic, no ice, as Friday, Saturday and Sunday night plays host to a series of ripping gigs. Tomorrow night, November 11, features a home-grown feast of The Shorts, The Rowletts, Trucks and Witches Child. Saturday welcomes the purveyors of dance music journeys, Wax Nomads, and on Sunday, Holy Holy hit the venue in support of their shiny new single, ‘Darwinism’.
By Glen Anderson
Jordie Lane brought charm and class to the Rat recently when he played at Suttons House Of Music. Lane has been a consistently good artist for a number of years now, and one could only hope that the duo format that he brought to the Goldfields makes a return in the not too distant future. As a musician, I envy people like Lane who seem to have an ease and effortlessness when delivering their craft. Mr. Le is the newest Vietnamese Street Food café on Armstrong Street to finally opened its doors. Of course food obsessed author here has been in a few times to sample the fare. Pho, pork rolls, crispy pork and rice are just a few of the delights on offer. The selection of cakes and pastries are also pretty damn impressive and the home-made apple pies are an absolute treat! Lloyd Spiegel will bring his talents to Suttons House Of Music on November 12. Recently named one of the Top 50 guitarists of all time, he is well worth getting along to see if blues is your thing.
Give Me Fever Keep your fluids up and get plenty of rest, because Sun God Replica will be heading to Ballarat next month in order to launch their new album, Glandular Fever. Even better, the heavy garage-psych power trio have called in favours in order to share the spotlight with Swhat and Zeahorse. Swhat have a new album out next year, while you can get a copy of Zeahorse’s new album, Torana Dreamin’, now. The Eastern, Ballarat – December 3.
Soup’s On A fine line-up of musos will convene at Ballarat’s Babushka Lounge on Saturday, November 12 in order to raise funds for the local SoupBus. Coming your way are Dead Eyed Seraphim, Fusionite, SirenSong, Magical Monica, Shane Van Den Akker, Jamie, Nev Quick, Jess Hiatt and Kristine and Peter Allan. The SoupBus provides an after-hours meal to Ballarat’s homeless and less fortunate. Further information is available through soupbus.com.au.
Top Dollar Value Formed in 2013, Hideous Towns were quick to find a place in the dream-pop imagination. Following the release of single ‘Heart Attack’ in 2015, the band set
Holy Holy will play at Karova Lounge on Sunday November 13 on their national Australian tour. Their new single Darwinism is an evocative tune and it has crunchy clean guitars and a real catchy hook. This is a really cool track and it is quite 80`s Aussie rock in a sense. I dig it. Apparently the song was initially started in a hotel bathroom on an i-Phone. Friday November 18 Papa Pilko And The Binrats are belting out their diverse/ dynamic rock`n`roll at Suttons. Frontman Frank Sultana says the new EP Black Fire and rock’n’roll is a slight departure from the normal sounds of the band. This could be a great gig to get along to and leave nothing on the dance floor - so to speak! Rhiannon Simpson is opening the night. Having her roots in Ballarat, she has been impressing the blues scene in Melbourne and $15 to get in is a bargain. I might have to get along to this one also! Don’t forget the top pub in Meredith have artists playing on most Friday and Saturday nights, and the food is absolutely delicious. Host Caz Hearn will make you feel incredibly welcome and there is a ripper wine list. The bistro is in a separate room if you want to get away from the rowdy locals!
about recording their debut album across summer of 2015/16. They’ve smoothed out the edges and early next month the band will release Disquiet Living through Lost and Lonesome. Their current single is ‘Value’. The Eastern, Ballarat – November 12.
Super Suttons It’s a battle of lengthy band names, as Papa Pilko and the Binrats and Frank Sultana and the Sinister Kids go head to head at Ballarat’s Suttons House of Music on November 18. The Papa’s not long ago released their latest single and film clip, ‘Bloodlines’. Frank and company, meanwhile, have a new EP in Black Fire and Rock n Roll. They will be joined by 2015 Lazenby Young Blues Guitarist of the Year, Rhiannon Simpson.
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The Loop 21
The Heartache State and charitable avenues – Written by Amanda Sherring t’s b e e n a little while since Nick Barker has felt at home with his music, but he’s found it in his new band, The Heartache State. Made up of Nick Barker, Justin Garner, Steve ‘Venom’ Brown and Michael Hubbard the band are now well underway with their second album. “Before I started this band I’d just lost my way a bit. I was playing a lot of solo shows and playing the same songs and I just really wasn’t satisfied,” Nick says. “Justin’s writing and we’re writing together and I really trust those guys – we’ve been playing for a really long time. We all know our places really well and I wish I’d done it a long time ago.” First meeting Justin around a decade ago when he helped produce his Southpaw album, Nick knew pretty much instantly that the two had a musical connection. But it wasn’t until a few years ago when the duo joined forces on a combined musical project. “I’d always loved his song writing and guitar playing so when he moved to Melbourne it was only a matter of time,” Nick says.
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I have no illusions of taking over the world or selling millions of records, but as an artist, you’re dedicated to your craft and you wouldn’t want to leave and think, ‘I wish I’d pushed a bit further’,
do, and pick up the drums and the guitar On speaking with Nick, the band are and just see what comes out?” he says. passed the halfway mark in recording a new album, which they’ve approached “There’s a real freedom in it and I’m really quite differently to how recording fortunate that I’ve gotten to do this. I’ve currently operates in the industry. always wanted to do it.” What Nick remarks a decision that “Traditionally you’d always go into a studio and spend two weeks or 10 days could have been a disaster, the process has so far paid off and has been aided doing it and I just really hate studios so significantly to his friend and producer, I just space it out,” Nick laughs with the confession. “I reckon it’s a really great Shane O’Mara. Shane has worked alongway to work because you can record a few side many of Nick’s projects, and it’s even songs and listen to it. It’s not supposed more convenient his studio is around the to be something that stresses you out. corner from Nick’s house. I get really overwhelmed or something, “I just trust him, you know?” Nick there are too many possibilities. And states of working with Shane. “He has a doing this band is really nice because really great intuition with music and a there are only four of us in the band.” keep it simple approach.” Aside from spacing the recording Overall Nick likens the process to process out, the four members have those of the early days of the Rolling also bypassed the practising process and Stones – a band Nick loves and respects. are recording raw – creating music that If there’s something that can be said of The Heartache State, it’s that this is a comes straight from the heart. “With this album we didn’t even band of music lovers who have found rehearse, Justin and I may have picked their musical soulmates (so to speak). up a few acoustic guitars and said ‘What Decisions are made not for personal gain, about this’, but the date kind of snuck up but purely for the experience of creating on us and we said, ‘You know what, why great “raggedy ass rock ‘n’ roll”. don’t we do what we’ve always wanted to “I have no illusions of taking over the
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world or selling millions of records, but as an artist, you’re dedicated to your craft and you wouldn’t want to leave and think, ‘I wish I’d pushed a bit further’,” Nick says. Further proof of the love for their craft is with Nick’s recent charitable appearances at the Mane Event in Geelong and One for the Otways. The latter of which raising funds for the bushfire striken parts of Victoria Nick has a deep love for. At another fundraising event, this time for Karingal, The Heartache state will perform at 13th Beach alongside Hey Mammoth and the Carers Choir as part of the Music to a Tee event at the 100 Hole Hike. “If you do it right they can be great these benefits,” Nick says. And with past events bringing along the likes of Deborah Conway and Archie Roach, you can expect this instalment of Music to a Tee to be a great one. The Heartache State are set to perform at Music to a Tee at 13th Beach during the 100 Hole Hike on January 20 alongside Hey Mammoth and the Carers Choir.
When & Where: Music to a Tee at 13th Beach during the 100 Hole Hike, January 20
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Local Feature 23
Great Australian Beer Festival
→→ Richard Clapton
↓↓ Jon Toogood
Geelong’s Great Australian Beer Festival is set to return on a summer’s day in February next year. Enjoy a cold brew on a hot day as the festival celebrates its fifth year – and a few very big changes. With the explosion of the Australian craft beer scene, the Great Australian Beer Festival is a celebration of both local and state-wide breweries, showcasing hundreds of different brews and a variety of styles – with so many this festival is one to please even the fussiest hop-heads. Live music includes the likes of The Potbelleez, Richard Clapton, Jon Toogood, Reuben Stone, Mitch King, Joe Mungovan, Luke Morris, Pat Tierney, Rach Brennan Band, Gerry McKeague and Joss Russell with even more to come! Next year’s festival will also see the addition of a fully exclusive VIP area within great viewing of the main stage as well as the option to reserve tables. There will also be a variety of interactive activities for festival-goers to participate in from keg rolling, quirky costume races, beer cabaret and even a beer cocktail corner (need we say more?) There will also be a series of free seminars over the day giving beer lovers the opportunity to meet and mingle with the brains behind the brands. With three stages, an international beer hall, a variety of food trucks and BBQ’s, festival director Michael Ward says that “GABF’s not only a smorgasbord of 200+ beers and ciders, it’s an experience designed to stimulate more than just taste buds. “It’s just a great social event, a real celebration,” he says.
Jonathan Toogood is the frontman (lead vocals and guitar) of the New Zealand rock band Shihad for 25 years, with whom he wrote more NZ radio hits than any other artist in NZ music history. With the youngest Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, picking up the honour at the RIANZ New Zealand Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the multi instrumentalist, radio presenter, mentor, theatre performer and voiceover artist will be bringing his legendary performances to the Geelong Beer Fest!
When & Where: Geelong Racecourse – February 18 2017
Early bird tickets are currently on sale – so get in quick and save your coin for future beer purchases! Discount tickets are available from the website until November 11.
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Australian singer-songwriter,producer and guitarist from Sydney, you would probably recognise Richard Clapton for his classic 1975 hit ‘Girls on the Avenue’. Now in his 43rd year as a recording artist with 13 studio albums spanning four decades, Richard has earned his position as one of the country’s most influential and admired musicians having amassed a dedicated and diverse fan base along the way. Grab a pint and settle in for a true aussie rock performance.
←← The Potbelleez Having not performed in Geelong since their 2012 show at Eureka Hotel on March 15, this IrishAustralian three piece make this festival their grand return. The Potbelleez of course are best known for their tracks ‘Don’t Hold Back’, ‘Are You With Me’, ‘Hello’ and ‘From the Music’. This year has seen them release two tracks ‘Horny’ and ‘Shout’ and our guess is there’ll be quite a few more before the GABF comes around.
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Local 25
Forté rounded up a few of the acts to look out for:
1. The Monkeywrench
River Rocks For nine years, River Rocks has had the Barwon Club pumping with amazing rock’n’roll talent. And it’s not just rock bands on the line-up. This unique local event encompasses a wild combination of great bands with a like-minded passionate audience, with the likes of The Monkeywrench (USA), HITS, Six Ft Hick, Dirtclodfight (USA), Warped, Totally Unicorn, The Ruiner, Blood Sucking Freaks, Peeping Tom, Clever, You Beauty, Mad Macka (Out in the beer garden), The Meatbeaters, Poppin Mommas, Drug Sweat, Grindhouse, Shit Sex, Cereal Killer, Two Headed Dog, The Dukes of Deliciousness and Amba Fear. If that line-up isn’t enough for you, there will also be the usual free BBQ and the Ox Menzies cocktail hour at the venue! Last year, Ross Knight of the Cosmic Psychos said: “It’s a great day to go the pub, but it’s an even better day to go the pub when it’s bloody River Rocks.” So prepare for a night of shouting, singing, carrying on, erratic dance moves and an epic hangover.
Formed in 1991, this super group of sorts have reunited and are hitting River Rocks as part of their first ever Australian tour. Intended to be a sort of one time, LP band, it was founded by members of the classic Seattle band Mudhoney, Mark Arm and Steve Turner along with guitarist Tim Kerr, Tom Price and Martin Bland.
2. Dirtclodfight Eugene-Portland punk band Dirtclodfight has been around for quite a while. After multiple line-up changes and an extended hiatus, band leader Phil Merwin rebooted the band in 2004 with Dean Miles on drums and Jason Locher on bass. They recently released their new EP, ‘The Reckoning’, which is a return to 90’s noise and heaviness. Catch them at River Rocks as part of their first ever Australian tour.
4. SixFtHick
3.
SixFtHick is a swamp rock band from Brisbane known for the unpredictable antics of two singers, brothers Geoff and Ben Corbett. Formed in 1995, the band have released four albums to date and have been relentlessly touring Australia and supporting artists such as The White Stripes, Beasts of Bourbon, TISM and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
When & Where: River Rocks @ The Barwon Club, Geelong – November 19.
2.
1.
3. Totally Unicorn Australian metal core band from near Sydney, Totally Unicorn are best known for their highly energetic and unpredictable live shows; which often feature partial or complete nudity, jumping off the stage or other raised platforms, and interacting with individual audience members – a very magical animal hardcore act to say the least. They released the long awaited debut album Dream Life earlier this year.
4.
PLAYING TIMES
The Monkeywrench
12:00 - 1:00
The Ruiner
7:00 - 7:30
Grindhouse
3:00 - 3:30
Six Ft Hick
11:15 - 12:00
Peeping Tom
6:30 - 7:00
Shit Sex
2:30 - 3:00
Hits
10:30 - 11:15
You Beauty
6:00 - 6:30
Amba Fear
2:00 - 2:30
Meatbeaters
5:30 - 6:00
Cereal Killer
1:30 - 2:00 1:00 - 1:30
Warped
9:50 - 10:30
DIRTCLODFIGHT
9:00 - 9:50
BEERGARDEN MAD MACKA
5:00 - 5:30
Two Headed Dog
Totally Unicorn
8:30 - 9:00
Poppin Mommas
4:30 - 5:00
The Dukes of Deliciousness 12:30 - 1:00
The Nation Blue
8:00 - 8:30
Clever
4:00 - 4:30
DOORS OPEN 12:00
Blood Sucking Freaks
7:30 - 8:00
Drug Sweat
3:30 - 4:00
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Twice as Nice The New Year’s Day Party with Unlimited High-End Food & Alcohol Written by Talia Rinaldo
Traditional Spanish paella, freshly shucked oysters and mouth-watering southern fried chicken are just some of the high-end food you can expect at the new boutique New Year’s Day festival, Twice as Nice. Held out at Mt Duneed Estate, the festival offers copious amounts of food in an all-inclusive experience - so once you’re in, there’s nothing else to spend. Event promoter, from Roadhouse Entertainment, Michael Newton says this alternative New Year’s event aims to give guests the chance to celebrate food and alcohol in style with no added costs. Basically, all you have to do is indulge in the
Alister Turrill On taking his music abroad, his new EP and a future album Written by Talia Rinaldo
Coined as a “songwriter of the highest order” from acoustic blues connoisseur Lloyd Spiegel, playing alongside Australia’s most respected blues artists like Jeff Lang and Geoff Achison and winning the 2011 Melbourne Youth in Blues award, Alister Turrill is fast becoming a name known to Australian blues. Despite his impressive achievements at only 24 years old, Alister remains as humble as ever. “It’s still pretty unbelievable. I’m very, very grateful for it all. I’ve got to play with a bunch of my heroes so I’m very lucky - that’s for sure,” Alister says. Since the release of his debut album Reverence & Resonance and spending last year with the trio Alister Turrill & The Vagabound Brothers (alongside drummer Toby Johnson and bassist Jaron Mulholland), the Geelong-based musician has been charming crowds with his solo performances, even travelling as far as Germany to play his raw and uninhibited tunes. “That was unbelievable. I didn’t really know anyone over there so I just went exploring basically. I met one guy who was the bass player of a friends band and he was like ‘oh I know a blues place up the road who might give you a gig’. I’d just get to the new place and I would just ask around and find places to play,” he says. “I’d never really done anything like that before. I was just some dude from Australia who could speak zero German, but when I started playing they were more than happy to listen, it was really really special to see.” Returning from his time abroad, Alister is in the midst of launching his brand new EP ‘A Toast to Better Times’, which showcases five of his most mature and defined folk songs. “Musically it’s a little different. It’s more sort of my folk side than a sort of blues side. I still definitely have that side, but I suppose I felt these songs needed to be together and that’s why it’s an EP so I can sort of have these particular songs feel like they fit together. “They are more sort of story time, folk songs. I’ve got no acoustic in it, just ukulele and that’s about it.”
music (with headliners Sneaky Sound System, Yolanda Be Cool, Indian Summer, Kid Kenobi, Grand Master Baitz and DJ Corey Enright) along with the fine wine, cocktails, craft beers and food. Georgina Damm from Melbourne caterers Damm Fine Food will be supplying the range of festival food throughout the venue all afternoon and evening. With non-stop unlimited food, Georgina’s aim was in matching great food to the winery venue to create a real gourmet experience – with minimum fuss and maximum style. “On top of partying and dancing and having fun, the food is quite considered. We are really aiming to take this up a notch from just a taco truck or a burger truck. We put a lot of time and effort into making sure that there is a real interesting food experience and that people won’t get bored with just seeing the same food,” Georgina says. There will be four main outlets serving different foods in a ‘tasting plate style’ served over the entire course of the day, changing every couple of hours. “Just because you have been there once you know you can come back and there will be something different.” Out in the main bar, you will find the Oyster Bar with freshly shucked oysters served with tabasco and classic cocktail sauce and later, a selection of fresh Vietnamese chicken, shallot, capsicum and coriander salad. Outside will see traditional paella in multiple pans, followed by a self-serve taco bar with refried beans and pulled beef, guacamole, red salsa and warm tortillas where guests customise their own tacos. For the evening, this stall will serve fresh shredded ham, pecorino, basil and buffalo mozzarella pizza boards to munch on into the night. And that is not even the half of it. There will also be old school country burgers on grilled buns, delicious panko crumbed fish and fat chips, smoked frankfurts with sauerkraut mayo, macaroni cheese,
Kicking the launch off last week at the Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festival, the EP includes a mixture of new and old songs, with Alister ‘road testing’ them over time, letting them develop into fine-tuned, folk tales. “There is one in particular that I’ve had for a couple of years, but some are quite new. I never sort of thought about putting them on an EP until this year. I feel like they needed to be together as this little package.” Even with the current EP launch, Alister is thinking about creating music more suited to a future album, with “more assurance and more sounds”. “It’s still very early days. Even though I’m hitting the road for this one, I’ll still be finishing off songs and writing new ones, and just thinking about how to go about the next album and how to make it different - how I can make it better. And yeah, sort of just keep going from there.”
When & Where: A Toast to Better Times EP Launch @ Wesley Anne, Northcote – November 11, Oscar’s Alehouse, Belgrave – November 12 & The Workers Club, Geelong – November 18.
fresh frozen gelato, classic southern fried chicken and crunchy potato croquettes. Heading into the New Year preparing all these scrumptious treats, Georgina’s top picks for the festival include oysters with a glass of champagne, paella with crispy dry white wine, and the fried chicken with a pot of beer to carry you into the evening. As one of Melbourne’s leading caters, Georgina says there will also be gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options at all of the food stalls. To match the food, there will be some damn fine beverages with cocktails like the Spice Mojito, Aperol Spritz and Pimms, amongst a selection of spirits, beer, cider and Mt Duneed’s very own wines. “I think people will really be surprised by the calibre and quality of the food and drink. We’ve designed a menu and it’s been matched well with the wines that are on offer,” Georgina says. “The idea is that it is just as much a food experience as a music experience.” For more information and to see the full menu visit twiceasnice.net.au
When & Where: Twice as Nice @ Mt Duneed Estate – January 2017 from 3pm
Reuben Stone: On busking, taking chances and his newest single Written by Alex Callan
“I l e ft C h r istch u rch after the earthquakes in 2012, I had nothing left man. I moved to Australia and said ‘What am I going to do now?’ So I bought a battery powered speaker and sat on Swanston Street and started playing,” says multi-instrumental artist Reuben Stone “A lot of inspiration comes from that time, I thought I wouldn’t survive. If you go through something like that, a near death experience, nothing really scares you any more. I can be out on the streets anywhere in the world and it doesn’t scare me. You take a chance and meet a lot of strange people, but it doesn’t scare me really.” Now being based in Brunswick, Reuben earns a living busking around Melbourne and as well as all over the world, even recording certain releases whilst playing on the street. Gaining a lot of attention for his unique blend of looped dub, psych and funk, Reuben has not only played sets as a busker but also smashing festivals such as Strawberry Fields, Yemaya and even the esteemed Burning Man. Earlier this month he recorded his newest single ‘Push To The Limit’ in Los Angeles whilst experiencing two days free on his international tour. “It was actually the studio where Rick Rubin engineered through the 90’s and it was a crazy place. I did two days there and it was a pretty wild experience. All the equipment is like a 1972 Neve million dollar recording console, hundreds of guitars, keyboards
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and effect units everywhere. It was kind of like a Disney Land of recording studios,” he laughs. Beginning as a guitar instructor in Christchurch, Stone relocated after the horrific earthquakes to hit New Zealand in 2012. But it wasn’t until he came to Australia that he discovered the possibilities of the loop pedal, which he has now honed as his own unique sound. “I started looping about 10 years ago when I was 17. I was doing a diploma of performance; I bought a pedal that had a loop function on it so I started practising my scales and stuff over the top of it. Then when I moved to Australia in 2012, I saw a guy called Dub FX who was using a loop station in a musical sense to write songs and I was like ‘whoa, I had never ever thought of that’, of using one like that.” Being long time friends with Tash Sultana, another musician who gains a lot of acclaim for her talents in looping, Reuben is ecstatic at her recent success. “It’s really cool to see someone who is so passionate about music and being multi-instrumental. I don’t have any siblings but every time I see Tash play I think, if I did have a sister they would probably be like her. She’s a really good friend.” Now back in Australia, Reuben is playing a handful of shows including a slot playing at the beloved Queenscliff Music Festival. “I’m pretty stoked on that man. I’m doing something like three stage shows and the Queenscliff Express, which is like a train that goes around. I’ve been trying to figure out how it’ll be, but I’m excited…Is it an actual train?”
When & Where: Queenscliff Music Festival, Queenscliff - November 25 – 27
Local 31
X If you are intrigued about anything to do with health, sexuality and lifestyle, SEXPO is for you. As the world’s longest-running adult exhibition (this month celebrating its 20th year), SEXPO has taken the adult products out of adult stores and presented them to the public.
If you think this is just a big sex show, you would be wrong – well kind of! Designed to provide a fun, vibrant and even educational atmosphere for all adults, it’s more a celebration of all lifestyles and sexualities. Ease into your SEXPO experience by browsing the hundreds of exhibitors. Whether you are looking for a fun, different or special gift, there is something for everyone. Hosted by Paralympic gold medallist Sam Bramham and love and empowerment coach Belinda Love, the
32 Local
entertainment is a massive draw card at this years event. With international performers and male and female stage acts (think Japanese Rope Masters and MenXclusive - male burlesque group with rock-hard abs), hypnotists, comedians, lingerie parades and the world famous Amateur Strip Competition. There will also be a range of special adult star guests, including Madison Missina, named ‘Hottest Porn Star’ of 2015 who will be exhibiting her incredible erotic art installation which looks at female sexuality, stripped of the porn layers.
When & Where: SEXPO @ Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Wharf – November 24 – 27 For more information head to www.sexpo.com.au
Along with these usual attractions, this year the exhibition has further embraced technology to allow guests the opportunity to provide a glimpse into the future of the adult industry with free VR Headsets. For the first time, guests can experience how technology has started to change the way we conceptualise sex, sexuality and life in general, providing guests with a variety of virtual adult fantasy scenarios. VR gaming, robotics and sex tech are among the other technologies on show at this years SEXPO.
There are multiple bars and lounge areas for guests to enjoy, such as the All Male Revue and Laporium, as well as educational demonstrations and seminars in the Fetish Playroom and the S.H.A.R.E. Seminar Theatre. There is also an official after party with special guests and live performances on the Sunday for those wanting to make a night of it. SEXPO gives everyone with the chance to mix in a bit of shopping and socialising with world class entertainment – what better way to spend a day out?
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Se x Therapist, Dr. Ja ne t Hall talks about tips for healthy loving writte n by Ca itl in H a dda d
“I used to say I was a jack of all trades and a master of none, and now I say I’m a master of too many,” laughs Dr. Janet Hall.It’s not hard to see why, the illustrious professional speaker is a clinical psychologist, hypnotherapist, motivational speaker and sex therapist – often consulted by media outlets on an array of topics. Focusing currently on sex therapy; “the sexuality topic just seemed to me such an inspiring road to take,” Hall is currently looking to implement an online course for ‘healthy sex’ – the basis of her talk at Melbourne’s Sexpo later this month. “The whole world has really opened up to being able to study what I call ‘healthy sex,’ which is spirit, mind, heart and body,” she says. “I think it’s really only burgeoned in the last five years, up until about five years ago ‘tantra’ was a word that most people said ‘what?’” Recent times show the topic of sex and sexuality is at the forefront of society. From Globalisation by the internet, the western world has found itself saturated by the topic- with accessibility for most people at the touch of a finger. Yet, there’s still a lot of stigmatisation and anxiety surrounding sex and sexuality – one that Hall finds herself often working against. “I invite people to think of a metaphor of a table with four legs. Each one of those is worth 25%. So if you cut off or ignore or make sexuality wrong, you’re actually walking around on three legs and sooner or later you’re going to fall over. It’s not healthy.” It’s what motivated Hall to agree to be involved with Sexpo. “Even though there is a lot of raunchy promotions of sexuality, they’re very much now encouraging sex education so they have this shared environment in which I’m going to be speaking and my daughter – who is a tantric expert, Pamella, is going to be speaking too.” It’s not her first time attending the expo however, having been to about seven or eight in the past. “So many people who go to Sexpo are going for a visual experience, or even certainly to be titillated and stimulated and go home with a gleam in their eye. Which, I say there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a fantastic idea. But it’s more fantastic now that they’re inviting speakers to inspire people to want to be like spirit, heart, mind, body, healthy sex and respectful sex and all the other wonderful aspects of sex which we’re just not taught about.” Another aspect to Halls ‘healthy loving,’ is how couples can implement certain
Q&A with
practices to result in a fulfilling sex life. “I talk about using your five senses- so it’s making your bedroom more visual, because about 40% of people are more visual anyway, so you know is your bedroom sensuous? Is it set up so that when you walk in what you see makes you feel good? “I’ll also talk about your signature scent, finding a signature scent...What is the signature scent that most turns you both on?” she says. “The promise is you don’t wear it any other time. You certainly don’t go to a party where you might be flirting with other women, wearing your signature scent. It’s something we don’t share. Isn’t that just a lovely, lovely ritual and habit to get into?” Another major tip is implementing a sex schedule. For those who feel that it takes the spontaneity out of sex, Dr. Hall says “You have scheduled sex and you can also have spontaneous sex. You don’t have one or the other... because then if you have them both you have them all.” Dr. Hall and her daughter Pamella will both have a stall to answer your questions and offer free advice. “My daughter has acknowledged so many times how much I’ve inspired her to honour and respect her sacred sexuality and that’s what’s now inspired her to become my other half. As far as we know we’re the only mother daughter in the world so I’m doing the mind, body connection and she’s doing the mind, body and spirit connection.” For those who are anxious about visiting a sex therapist, Hall says “It’s a matter of- if you’re in dire need, you will ask for help. And more and more people are in dire need for sex education and encouragement, inspiration and step by steps. And to make it fun and pleasurable.”
Venus Lu x
Transsexual pornography has quickly become a desired market in the porn industry. As society slowly progresses to acceptance of sexual fluidity, the demand of representation within the porn industry grows. Forte sits down with trans adult star Venus Lux, who when she isn’t fighting for human rights, going on fun dates or travelling is a driving force in the transsexual porn market.
Clearly there was an obvious need for transsexual porn stars, shown with your success, have you had any fans or people approach you and let you know how much it’s meant for them to see representation?
When you first entered the business, was there an established market for transsexual stars? When I first started, the market for transsexual porn had already existed but still had a lot of stigmatisation against transsexual stars. Such assumptions are ‘transsexual stars are deemed higher risk performers,’ ‘transsexual performers are considered ‘gay’. Now the market has expanded with growing demands of transsexual cisgender girl/girl porn or transsexual women femdom on men, alongside more opportunities for alternative content.
When and Where: Melbourne Sexpo, Friday November 25 and Saturday November 26, ‘ Great Sex in a Loving Relationship,’ 8pm
Sam Br amh am; paralympian, prankster and now co-host of Sexpo Writt en by Am anda S herr i n g
Sam Bramham has achieved a lot in life. He’s been a successful paralympian swimmer (in which he broke the 100m butterfly record at the 2004 Athens Paralympics), a motivational speaker, an author but it’s his pranks on those around him that get Sam smiling of simpler times.
Do you feel like you’ve driven or pioneered the market? In some cases I do feel like a pioneer or that I’ve contributed to the expansion of the market. Not many Asian transsexual performers, let alone Asian transsexuals were in dominant roles. When I first started tspussyhunter. com there wasn’t many sites that showcased women and transsexuals together and now it’s a huge trend! As an outspoken Asian transsexual queer performer, I felt I contributed to the transsexual market with my voice, performance and spoken word of my experiences - educating my audience, peers and the general public.
“These are the things I’m probably most proud of,” he jokes, obviously acknowledging his success in the pool and as a public personality. But it’s all part of the parcel, and in Sam’s autobiography, the title uses the three words; pranks, passion and paralympics, and combined they form the basis of his life. A stint on Big Brother in 2014 shined a light on his humorous ways, as did his joke on the American media when referencing in an interview that his leg was ripped off by a kangaroo when he was a child. “The other week I did an interview for an American radio station, and the ban was only lifted in 2014,” Sam says. “So they said we’re glad we’ve got you on board but let’s not tell any more porkies, and I was that close to telling another one.” With his right leg amputated when Sam was about five years old, the prosthetic leg also became a handy tool for his larrikin ways. “[I’d do pranks like] turning the prosthetic around backwards when I was in the shopping aisle with mum,” Sam says, adding there was also a popular prank while riding horses, leaving the leg in the stirrup and pretending it had been removed when he was thrown from the horse. While Sam may have found a place in humour growing up, his home in the pool was where he felt most at ease. “When I had my leg amputated when I was five, the doctor recommended a non-contact sport and swimming was the obvious go-to,” Sam says. “It’s just
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Actually yes! It gives me great pleasure when I get weekly fan mail or comments from my fans on my affect I’ve had on their lives. Most times I get ‘you’re my first transsexual I discovered! Ty for opening my mind to transsexuals,’ or ‘my wife/gf and I are huge fans of how fluid your performances are with both men and women.’ Looking at your social media, you post quite a lot of support and information regarding LGBT rights. How important is it for you to discuss these human rights issues? Has porn given you access to a bigger platform to discuss this? Yes, I do a lot of LGBT advocacy. It’s a personal respect for my family and community. I was homeless and needed help when I was a mere, naive gay teenager in San Francisco. Now I have blossomed to be a self sustaining and independent
trans Pornstar. I love to educate from the wisdom and experiences I’ve gathered in hopes someone out there can make use of it. What do you think the future is like for porn and trans porn? I feel the future for porn will be more autonomy for independent producers and entrepreneurial performers. As for trans porn, it has yet to ‘blow up’ so I’m just doing my best to help it grow and expand. What are some of the keynotes you’ll be discussing at Sexpo? Items I would like to explore for Sexpo Melbourne this year would be introductory topics pertaining to trans porn culture. Items like: Who are the stars and producers in Australia? What is happening, happened, or needs to happen to improve and expand the market? Also I’ll be creating an open space to openly talk with other sex workers and answer questions anyone may have from my experiences. When and Where: Venus Lux ‘Gender Identity VS. Sexuality’ Sexpo Melbourne, Saturday November 26th , 9pm
a good place to be, the water is euphoric, it’s the only place I can be in and not rely on a piece of machinery to mobilise me.” His place in the pool led to his career as a paralympic swimmer, of which Sam has only recently taken a break from. With several medals to his name, the step away from the poolside may be a surprise, but as Sam says, once the passion’s gone you can’t force it, “Once the passion’s gone it just became a lot harder,” he adds. Instead, Sam has found joy in other projects, refurbishing old retro furniture (“I find it really therapeutic, I’m currently working on an old 1920s feng shui coffee table”), writing a second book which this time around will be a work of fiction and taking on co-hosting duties at Sexpo. The opportunity came through a friend and previous host of the event, empowerment coach Belinda Love, who mentioned the hosting gig to Sam. Not wanting to pass on a great experience, Sam accepted and will co-host alongside Belinda at this year’s event. “I definitely think sex should be celebrated, not denigrated. We all think about sex whether we like it or not,” Sam says before adding, “It also keeps you out of trouble as well.” Whether those prankster antics will remain off stage is yet to be seen. Sam Bramham is co-hosting Sexpo alongside Belinda Love.
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The Bronx Pressed Juices Revolution Written by Amanda Sherring
Healthy living and eating out has had a facelift in Geelong, and co-owners of the Bronx Pressed Juices Jake Munday and John Kennedy are at the forefront. After opening their first store in early August, plans are underway for expanding with a Torquay location set to open later this month. “We weren’t going to do it this quickly but a ripper spot came up so we thought, ‘Let’s do it’,” Jake Munday says of the esplanade storefront next to popular cafe, Pond. “For me it’s all about experience and all about growth and taking on a new challenge. I love it.” While the soon-to-be Torquay location is getting the Bronx treatment, the kitchen is getting an upgrade too, with previously King of the Castle chef, Lauren Ellis, set to join the team and a series of new menu items (including cold-pressed icy poles and raw donuts) to be introduced for summer. Growth is important to the business partners, but health is at the core of what the Bronx is all about. Starting out with their range Jake and John enlisted help from nutritionists and naturopaths to ensure each juice and menu item had definite health benefits. Also part of the team is Erin Bartholomaeus and Cobie Higgins who, each with a background in health, have helped develop aspects of the menu. “[It’s just about] jumping in and being enthusiastic and going full pace at it,” Jake says. “One of my favourite sayings is ‘I’ll do things today that others will do tomorrow, so that tomorrow I will do things that others can’t’. And I guess that’s how I kind of run my businesses. I’ll do as much as I can with the time I’ve got.” With a background investing in Facebook pages (Dog Lovers and Worlds Best Pranks) and entrepreneurial businesses (Pearly Whites and Swing Boss), Jake has a mind for business and partnering with John (who co-operates Quban) allowed The Bronx
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Pressed Juices a great platform for growth. “I kind of just fell into [Bronx], and that’s part of my whole journey in the business world – I’ve been very good at grabbing something and just learning as I go,” Jake says. While this may be Jake’s first venture into hospitality, he’s inspired by those around him who are pioneers in the industry. One such inspiration is Robbie Lecchino, owner of popular Geelong West cafe, King of the Castle. “I look at someone like Robbie from King of the Castle and he’s a huge inspiration,” Jake says. “For what he’s done, he started King of the castle in a door and built customers in two or three years. I look at what he’s got now and remind myself that these things don’t happen overnight and I’m excited for where the Bronx is heading and in creating a brand that is that health alternative.” With a second venue within four months of opening the first, it seems the business partners are on their way for pioneering healthy alternative eating in the Geelong region.
↑↑ Queen Vic Summer Night Market returns Offering an outstanding selection of seasonal food and drinks, this year’s instalment features brand new creations from some of Melbourne’s favourite venues. 400 Gradi will be serving up an exclusive pizza pocket direct from Rome for the first time at the Summer Night Market, alongside Coopers brewing up a limited edition Amber Ale crafted especially for the event and much more. It happens from November 16 – March 8 at the Queen Vic Markets.
When & Where: The Bronx Pressed Juices, at 75 Preston Street, Geelong West, is open from 7.30am until 3pm Monday to Saturday and 9am until 3pm Sunday. The second location is set to open later this month on The Esplanade in Torquay.
↑↑ Torquay gets a popup beach bar Bomboras in Torquay (while unfortunately closing their Surf Coast highway venue) has opened a pop-up bar along the beach in Torquay. The bar, featuring Bells Beach Brewing on tap is set to run until April next year overlooking Zeally bay.
El Gordo provided by Smudge publishing Photography by Kevin Li & katie wilton
As you spill out onto the adjacent laneway after a night of tapas and sangria at El Gordo, it may take you a second to remember that you’re not in Spain after all, but Bendigo. When Chad and Haley Aldred took over El Gordo in late 2015, this is exactly what they wanted – for customers to experience a casual European dining experience in Bendigo. The couple has combined their love for French and Spanish cuisine and injected it into a simple, yet stylish menu that can be enjoyed from the ambient laneway. With more than 17 years experience as chefs, Chad and Haley are what you might call hospitality veterans. Chad was trained at Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, before moving to Victoria and starting a string of roles as a qualified chef. These included stints at The Point at Albert Park and the award winning Paringa Estate on the Mornington Peninsula. When Chad and Haley relocated to Bendigo, Chad took up the role of Head Chef at GPO, but the lure of creating and owning their own place was too much. While Chad has a wealth of experience in the kitchen, Haley brings her knowledge and experience to the
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↑↑ You can now order Hot Chicken Project at Blackman’s Brewery Bar
front-of- house positions at El Gordo. The two work together to design the seasonal menu and drinks lists, which focus on simplicity, quality and of course, local produce. Salad mixes come from Peppergreen Farms, and breads arrive fresh from Good Loaf Bakery, while the olive oil is sourced from Salute Oliva and herbs are picked fresh from Bendigo local, B&B. The menu is suited to both customers in a hurry, and those wanting indulge in a more relaxed dining experience. The daily salads and baguettes – try the grilled pumpkin baguette with peppers, red onion, spinach and chevre – are perfect for grabbing lunch on the run. The tapas and raciones, available on Friday and Saturday nights, are ideal for an evening spent grazing. For a tasty bite try the heirloom beetroot and goats’ cheese ball with walnut candy, the crumbed pork belly with carrot escabache, or the chicken and chorizo paella bomb. For those with a sweet tooth, El Gordo does not disappoint. The menu offers waffles with a selection of toppings, as well as irresistible desserts on Friday and Saturday nights – think churros with a warm sauce, and chocolate mousse with pedro ximenez jelly and salted caramel.
El Gordo has been designed to match the quirky lane that it lives on – a walkway that features contemporary local art, unique retailers and street art – promoting buskers and hosting live music in the laneway frequently. It even has its very own vertical garden and a beautiful big window that allows the beauty of Chancery Lane to shine through to the cafe. El Gordo offers a unique opportunity to experience European dining, without having to leave Bendigo. With a selection of food from the excellent menu, a glass of sangria and some live tunes to serenade you, El Gordo is the ultimate relaxed and happy dining experience.
Where: Shop 3/70 Pall Mall, Bendigo Ph: 0401 412 894 Site: elgordobendigo.com You can read all about these fantastic venues and much more in Smudge publishing’s, ‘Flavours of Victoria’. Available from smudgeeats.com.au, the featured venues and all good bookshops
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As if Blackman’s Brewery bar and the Hot Chicken Project isn’t a match made in heaven? Clearly, both owners realised this, and as a result for a few nights each week you can order the deliciously spicy chicken from the new bar just off Little Malop St.
↑↑ Toast to the Coast has best year yet The event (which happened the last weekend of October) was a sell-out, with record sales for both buses and event tickets. While many missed out, we did a quick run down of the first day’s happenings. Visit our site if you’re feeling nostalgic.
Maxine Beneba Clarke and creating social change through literature Written by Amanda Sherring
“W ith a rt p e o pl e let their guard down. When you go to see a play, go to a music concert or open the cover of a book you’re ready to accept someone else’s story,” Maxine Beneba Clarke says of the power of art. It’s a notion that has drawn people to reading Maxine’s book, The Hate Race. A book which puts the reader in the mind and world of an African-Australian citizen growing up in the country and the racism experienced as a result. “I think what it does, more reading does, is it creates that empathy and it allows someone outside of that place to be brought inside it. It may not mean that that person then goes out and campaigns against racism but in their interpersonal relations with friends and family they’re a bit more aware of these things,” she says. The book itself documents Maxine’s experiences of racism, with the catalyst for the book serving as the incident depicted in the prologue, in which Maxine is abused while at the traffic lights with her young child. While this is an incident where Maxine is the victim, in life no one’s perfect and that’s reflected in her memoir.
“I was adamant that as an honest memoir even if there were things that made me look bad I had to include them. My pet hate is when the author is the hero in all respects, because that’s just not the way human beings are,” she says. “If I’m going to be honest there’s still a possibility that myself as a character is not going to appeal to people. So there’s nowhere to hide in a memoir and I think that’s why I wrote it so quickly.” As a result The Hate Race harnesses a truthful honesty that’s poignant and gaining acclaim country-wide, even internationally. International best-selling author Dave Eggars even described her as a “powerful and fearless storyteller”. Her strengths as a writer first came through writing for the likes of Overland,The Age, Meanjin, The Saturday Paper and The Big Issue, but it was her short fiction collection, Foreign Soil [2014], where she really came into her own voice. The collection proved to be her grand entrance into the industry and a chance to fill a gap of people’s stories previously untold in Australian literature.
What was her first long-form release also proved to be a much longer writing process than her more recent book The Hate Race. “I think the writing process for Foreign Soil was a lot longer, particularly because it was a series of short fiction... the possibilities are endless,” Maxine says. “With the Hate Race you have the narrative, or at least bits of it, but you’re deciding which parts of the narrative and of your life to include – you’re dealing with fact and truth so the parameters are already set. And in ways I found that’s constraining because I’m used to playing in a room with my imaginary friends. You get to kill people off and make them do what you want and then it was like, ‘Hang on, I have to actually tell this story’.” Maxine’s story is a strong and powerful one, and while she may joke of her parents not being awfully interesting characters, the conversation created as a result is one of the most important started this year. Maxine appears at the Word for Word non-fiction festival as the keynote speaker on opening night. A spot she has well and truly deserved.
Maxine is the Keynote Address on the opening night of Word for Word festival at 7pm on Friday, November 18. Find out more information via www.wordforwordfestival.com.au
Listen out for:
Matt Katsis Hi! Thanks for chatting with me today! Can you introduce yourself? Hi there! My name’s Matt Katsis, I’m a singer, songwriter & guitarist based in Melbourne and I play a blend of Blues/Roots & Folk stirred music. Tell us about your new single My new single ‘Need You Here’ was recorded in an old hall in country Victoria, just out of Castlemaine. Over the span of several months I got stuck into recording overdubs at home in my living room. How has the tour been so far? The single tour has been great so far. I’ve just got back from playing four amazing shows at the Bendigo Blues & Roots Music Festivalhad a blast! Plus, the added bonus of having the tour van back in working order after a recent break down is always good too! If you could share the stage with one other artist – who would it be and why? I think I’d have to say Jimi Hendrix mainly because of his experimental and fearless approach to all aspects of his music, the guitar playing, song-writing and live shows. Where can we find your single/see you play? ‘Need You Here’ is now available to buy on iTunes and streaming through Spotify & Apple Music. . For more upcoming shows/tour info you can find what’s ahead at either www.mattkatsis.com and www.facebook.com/mattkatsismusic . Famous last words? I’ll catch you on the flip side...
When and Where: American Hotel, Echuca – Nov 25 & Billyray’s Blues Bar (Goldmines Hotel), Bendigo – Nov 26. FORTÉ 651
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Boy & Bear
The Pretty Littles
No Limit to Their Love of Taking The Stage
Jack Parsons on their new video, studying law and getting old
Written by Talia Rinaldo
Boy & Bear are one of the most loved live bands and are unbelievably good at what they do. Since they first hypnotised listeners across triple j’s radio waves in 2009, the Sydney folk-rock kings have found themselves in the spotlight, and rightly so. Forté caught up with the bassist Dave Symes ahead of their regional Australian ‘Limit of Love’ tour, kicking off this week which celebrates their acclaimed, number one debuting third studio album Limit of Love. Previously taking the tour to Australian capital cities earlier this year, and only recently finishing their North American tour (where Dave admits he was unimpressed with the amount of girls dressed up as cats for Halloween), the boys are keen to be back in the country sharing their music in true Boy & Bear style. “It’s been a big year definitely, it’s great for us to be able to stretch out like that. We start this regional tour down your way in Victoria which is pretty cool. We did something similar a couple of years ago, so we sort of thought it would be fun to do it again,” Dave says. “We think that it’s important for us to make sure that we kind of don’t forget about all the other parts of Australia. A lot of bands just do the capital cities, and they sort of bail out of investing the time and effort into doing the regional centres. But it’s something this band has kind of done from the beginning.” As part of their regional tour, the boys have also teamed up with Akasha Brewing Company creating All Australian Ale (AAA) which will be exclusively available at the shows. All the proceeds will be going towards the charity Buy a Bale, supporting rural Australian communities and farmers. “There’s a whole lot of talk about keeping things local these days and I guess it’s just something that we kind of appreciate and believe in. We just thought it was a nice little way to link up regional Australia with small business, local produce, and music, and beer,” he says.
Port Fairy Folk Festival Brian Nankervis on Rockwiz’s tribute to The Last Waltz Written by Alex Callan
After 11 years, does ‘Rockwiz’ really need an introduction? The SBS programmed music trivia show has not only provided music lovers a chance to enhance their knowledge for more than a decade, but it also introduces new artists who may be guests on the show. After last years success of Rockwiz Tribute shows
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Written by Jess Zanoni
“We are making an All Australian Ale which is why it is called the brand beer AAA. But there’s also a bit of a pun there. AAA is also kind of like backstage pass – all access area. So when you’re playing festivals and gigs you get your AAA pass so it’s a bit of a pun there as well – so that’s just kind of us trying to be clever, and funny... well not funny, just clever.” As a band that spends a lot of time in close quarters, between being clever and funny, Dave reflects on how well they get along as a band, attributing their friendship to their success. “We work together, we eat dinner together and we not quite shower together, but you know definitely shower after one another - we are together a lot. But we sort of tend to have a good understanding of each others needs and we share the same ambition,” Dave says. “I feel quite fortunate because I know it’s hard for a lot of people to exist in this way.” The boys will be taking their love of music back home following their tour, where they will start to craft some new tunes for their next record. “It’s something that we have been talking about a lot lately. We are pretty hungry to make a new album. And so we are definitely starting to sketch ideas and talk about it.”
The Pretty Littles’ have stuck together since the end of high school, making a name for themselves through their rollicking, uninhibited live shows and feel good, heart warming rock releases. With a recent video release for single Sleeping In Water, in which guitarist Simon Boyd is drowned by his band mates, frontman Jack Parsons talks about the experience of shooting a video nothing like the band had previously done. “It’s pretty heavy going. Morey, (Alex Moore) the guy that makes all the videos, he’s always done them, he’s a really good friend of ours. I think he wanted to try something half serious for once. It was freezing cold and the idea was really dark, we were going to do two goes at it with two different ideas but after we were in the creek once we were kind like ‘That’ll do, we’ll run with that one.’ It was pretty fun but pretty heavy, we killed Boydy,” says Parsons. For a band that’s so comfortable with each other, and who’ve obviously set natural rhythms and approaches to their songwriting over time, Parsons reflects on his own personal developments in the band’s third LP Soft Rock For The Anxious, and the band’s overall feeling towards the record.
When & Where: The Loft, Warrnambool – November 12 & Love Live Music at the ‘G, Melbourne – November 13
When & Where: Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo – November 10 & Costa Hall, Geelong – November 11
to The Band’s iconic farewell live movie/album ‘The Last Waltz,’ show producer and performer Brian Nankervis and the Rockwiz crew will be hitting the road to perform the show in front of a live audience at the Port Fairy Folk Festival. According to Nankervis, The Last Waltz was chosen to be the shows theme due to its iconic status in terms of music history. “It’s regarded by many people as one of the great rock films of all time. It was a big concert in San Francisco in 1976; it was the end of The Band, a fabulously important and influential group in America. They were together for about 10-15 years and did a lot of touring, and then in ’76 they decided to go off the road and have one final big concert,” Nankervis says. “Martin Scorsese filmed it and it featured an incredible line-up of artists; Bob Dylan, Neil Young,
“I think we’re all proud of it. I think that’s the first time that’s happened, we got the vinyls for it the other day which we’ve never had before. It’s only been out for a couple of months, at the time you think it’s real good but then you listen a couple of years later and you’re like what the fuck.” Soft Rock takes a more honest approach to its storytelling, with Parsons opening up more than in the band’s previous work. “You can do it honestly or bury it all in metaphors, you can pick either one. With the writing on these songs it wasn’t like burying meaning in them so I forget what they were about in the first place, it was more obvious and honest, so that was a change.” When reminiscing about the band’s perpetuity, Parsons laughs. “We’re starting to get a bit old now, I think people feel a bit sorry for us, they’re like ‘Oh are they still going? Yeah throw ‘em on the bill,’ we get the coach’s award for participation.” Parsons does however, gives insight into why he thinks the band has been able to get through it all, “The band’s a hobby and everyone’s got other shit going on, and I think that’s why we’re probably still playing, and I think that’s why we’ll probably keep playing for as long as we can because it’s such a fun hobby to have. I think when we all realised that and we were on that page, it started meaning a lot more to us.” As it turns out, Parsons is currently finishing a law degree, and has a final exam in the middle of their current tour. “The boys are all driving to Adelaide on the morning of the 11th and I have my exam and then I get to fly and meet them there. I’ve been at uni for 15 years so I’m ready to move on, I don’t know if I want to do law, it seems pretty grim, but who knows maybe there might be some cool things that come from it.” Looking towards the end of tour, summer and 2017, Parsons admits, “I’ll be wanting to do some party time. I might be wrong but I have a feeling we won’t get around to the next CD as quickly as we normally have been. We’ve been pumping them out for the last four years, maybe we’ll have some time off, it’s been a bit of a big year.”
Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison. It was incredible events that became a movie and live album and it is one of those records that in a way is a touchstone for people of a certain age and for people who are into a certain type of music.” However, punters of the festival will be experiencing more than just a tribute show. “It’s more than just the songs. I act as narrator and give the story behind the concert. It’s an interesting story because it’s slightly controversial. Over the years, a variety of opinions have come about including whether the rest of the band actually wanted to stop, or was it just the opinion of the leader/main songwriter Robbie Robertson. There was drama behind the scenes as to whether Bob Dylan would allow himself to be filmed; Neil Diamond was on the bill, which was a slightly controversial choice to some people.”
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Nankervis is buzzing for the show, revealing a soft spot of nostalgia for the festival. “We are very excited about it. I have only performed at Port Fairy once in about 1998 and I remember it very fondly. In fact, I remember driving down with Stephen Cumming and playing table tennis with the boys from weddings, parties, anything. “But the show will be great, because the exciting thing about Port Fairy is some of the artists who will be there, we want to try tap in to some of the international artists who are going to be there. It’ll be a really great weekend.”
When & Where: Port Fairy Folk Festival, Port Fairy – March 10 – 13 2017
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The Gordon
Tempus Sun
Graphic Design Program
Winners of Melbourne Music Bank 2016
The Gordon Graphic Design program has again exceeded expectations to deliver great students to local industry. Each year as part of the Advanced Diploma of Graphic Design, students are encouraged to take up work placement in local businesses to learn the ropes and get a feel for the fast pace the graphic design world can serve up. “We can teach students the fundamentals of design, teach them how to use software creatively and give students real client briefs, but at the end of the day, there is no substitute for the real thing,” course co-ordinator Jose Rodriguez says. “Graphic Design is a competitive industry, and we aim to give our students the best competitive advantage we can.” Torquay based advertising agency Fluid has taken on two Gordon graduates over recent years, Nick Humphries and newcomer Mitchell Eaton. “The Gordon has prepared these guys really well for working in our agency. They are an integral part of our team and we can see them having a long term future with us,” managing director Mike Beck says. “Mitch has come to us from The Gordon with a great attitude, a sound skill base and above all, a willingness to learn. With great animation and design skills he is a real asset to the team.” With blue chip Melbourne clients on Fluid’s accounts, Mitch will be sure to craft his skills in the years to come. Paul Neely, art director at full service advertising agency Ivy Street, was impressed with Gordon’s student Ben Brushfield’s capabilities in 3D and animation software. “Ben came to us on work placement while studying
Bluestone Blues Festival Your New Year Plans Sorted Bluestone Blues Festival is celebrating its 21st birthday this year with one of the best line-ups yet, showcasing a whole lot of outstanding local and national blues talent to bring in the New Year. The two-day event is the annual highlight of Sleepy Hollow Blues Club, and is fitting for blues lovers wanting to celebrate New Year’s with like-minded party people, their friends and their families. Kicking off New Years Eve, three-piece Geelong blues band Lounge Lizards will take to the stage, followed by big-voiced blues-based quartet Buxom Blues. Other acts helping end 2016 include The Andy Layfield Sound and Sweet Felicia and the Tradies, with Melbourne trio HouseWreckers having the task of carrying the crowds in to the New Year with their performance. The party will head into the night, finishing up at 1am. After getting a few hours to snooze, the party will kick off again in ‘Recovery Day’ style from 11am.
Written by Natalie Rogers
at The Gordon this year and when a position opened up for a junior designer, he applied and got the position,” Paul says. “Ben has a great passion for creativity and he is a perfect addition to our studio.” Geelong-based signage company Signific has also been a great supporter of The Gordon’s work placement program for many years. “We love having Gordon students with us, as their practical application and can-do attitudes really stand out,” director Warrwick Mossop says. “We have taken on two Gordon graduates in full-time positions, Adam Saunders and Jett Swanborough. These guys show initiative and have come from The Gordon with great foundation skills to build their new career on.” In 2017, Graphic design students will have the opportunity to be a part of an international study tour to Singapore where international advertising agencies open up their doors to the team.
Torquay-based blues outfit Righteous Desmond will take to the stage, followed by Chris Wilson Band (complete with his penetrating voice and brilliant harmonica playing) and Geoff Achison and the Souldiggers with their crowd-pleasing guitar virtuoso. Sammy Owen Band will signal the end of the party, with their mix of contemporary, funky and highly energetic blues tunes. This calibre of acts for New Years Day represent some of the finest blues talent this country has to offer. Along with the great blues tunes, guests can indulge in a range of beers, spirits, wine and soft drinks and graze on a variety of hot and cold food that will be available. As an annual two-day event, attendees also have the option of camping overnight to make recovery day a bit easier, which is one of the reasons this popular festival is one of the longest-running blues festival in Victoria. For more information and to purchase tickets online, visit sleepyhollowblues.club
When & Where: Bluestone Blues Festival @ Murgheboluc Reserve, Murgheboluc (20km west of Geelong) – December 31 2016 – January 1 2017
“This is an incredible opportunity for students. Singapore is rich in culture and it gives students a global perspective on design. Students return from these course with a heightened passion for their design practice,” Jose says. Thinking about a future in design? Now is the time to get your folio together and apply online today. Applications for The Gordon are now open for 2017 - but don’t leave it too long as positions in this course fill quickly.
Where & When: The Gordon’s 2017 Graphic Design student exhibition Stand Out is on from Thursday November 3 – 10 (excluding Sat/Sun) from 10am – 4pm at The Gordon Gallery, Fenwick St, Geelong.
Holy Holy’s Top 5 Movie Soundtracks Movies are pretty cool. And movies with killer soundtracks are even better. So we thought who better to judge a movie soundtrack than the talented Oscar Dawson from Holy Holy? 1. The Blues Brothers I loved this movie as a child. My sister and I memorised big sections of the dialogue and we knew all the songs by heart. It wasn’t until I was a bit older I realised how amazing it was that the movie featured Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker and Cab Calloway acting and performing – so good.
2. The Godfather Francis Ford Coppolas’ masterpiece features an incredibly moving soundtrack with a range of moods from epic open scores to dark brooding pieces. It’s cliche but if you’re cooking Italian food and drinking wine this is a great album to put on.
3. Terminator 2 Look, mainly just for the theme song which we in Holy Holy adore and actually do a cover of. It’s our dream that one of our songs will make a Terminator movie one day.
4. Drive A brilliantly dark film really lifted by the song choices – ‘Night Call’ and ‘A Real Hero’ being the obvious standouts. This film has the best opening credits of any film I’ve seen.
5. The Good, the Band and the Ugly All hail Ennio Morricone. If you’re making an American western film in the hills of Italy – this is the guy you want in charge of sound. Put this on to make any everyday task feel like an epic journey of lust, blood and bullets.
When & Where: The Workers Club, Geelong – November 12,, Karova Lounge, Ballarat – November 13 38 FEATURES
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Another year sees another exceptional crop of young Australian musicians given a voice, thanks to the good folk at Melbourne Music Bank. The deserving winners for 2016 are Moonee Ponds’ alternative outfit, Tempus Sun, with their stunning first track ‘Owls’. We caught up with guitarist Ed Borromeo who says he can’t keep the smile off his face. “I’ll be walking home from university and be in the middle of the CBD, and I’ll just have the biggest smile on my face thinking about everything to come – it’s just starting to sink in.” It’s hardly surprising Borromeo has a spring in his step when you consider that the prize pool for taking out the top spot is valued at over $60,000, and includes four days of recording at The Studios In The City to record, mix and master an EP, two film clips, album artwork, printed CDs, styling, media training, and an artist photo shoot for the release. Management and mentoring by Matt O’Connor, publicity by On The Map PR, radio plugging by Varrasso PR and gig bookings by 123 Agency, are included as well. They will also have the opportunity to tour the east coast of Australia, and a performance slot at the renowned festival Beyond The Valley. “I’m looking forward to the studio time with producer Tom Larkin the most, because that’s a big part of the creative stage,” says Borromeo, who studies alongside his band mates at the Australian Institute of Music. “Obviously we write the tunes, but it’s the opportunity to bounce ideas off the professionals, and that’s when it all starts to come together.” Featured on the track that deals with the importance of speaking up and being heard in times of personal crisis is up-and-coming singer/songwriter Rya Park. Inspired by Florence and the Machine and London Grammar, Park elevates the lyrics to a higher level with her evocative style and skill as a vocalist. “She’s an unbelievable singer, and a good friend,” Borromeo says. “Rya has her own songs and band, and they’re phenomenal, but we’ve spoken to her about joining us when we record and play gigs, and she’s stoked because she’ll have all the good stuff that comes along with being in a band without all the tough stuff.” Once in the studio, Borromeo says they plan to release an EP and embark on a tour of the east coast early next year, but in the meantime you can catch Tempus Sun at this year’s Beyond the Valley festival. “We’re from Melbourne and we have lots of friends and family here, and I think a lot of people are keen to come and check us out over New Year. “We’re really keen to test our other songs because you don’t know if they’re any good until you play them to someone else,” Borromeo continues, “and we have plans for our male vocalist Andrew - the stuff we’re working on will showcase him prominently. But overall we’re just excited to pump out some new material and see who we can catch with it.” Check out their winning song online at the The Melbourne Music Bank website.
When & Where: Beyond The Valley, Lardner – December 28 2016 – January 1 2017
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that interview on his Facebook page which has about 60,000 followers and the guy raised 60,000 dollars in four days, which was his target, and then went on to raise 200,000 dollars. You don’t know what’s going to happen, but by putting people in a room, it is hopefully the sort of outcome we can create to be ongoing.” According to Wells, Geelong is a great place to host the event due to our vibrant technology industry.
Pivot Summit The Digital Future Event Written by Alex Callan
“Pivot was born out of this idea that we can hold a world-class event in Geelong. We didn’t want to call it The Geelong Digital Summit - we wanted it to be something more forward thinking,” says Pivot Summit founder Leighton Wells. Back for its sophomore year, the Pivot Summit will be returning to Geelong this December. The Summit, which focuses on emerging technologies and entrepreneurship, features a stack of well established speakers and provides an opportunity for people with interest in the industry to network and collaborate, which is the major focus for the event.
Word for Word Non-Fiction Festival The third annual writing festival Word for Word is finally here, over the weekend of November 18-20. As Australia’s largest non-fiction writing festival, there will be an array of well known authors speaking and holding discussions on various topics within the realm of non-fiction writing. There will also be workshops held for those wanting to hone their skills and a great debate on Saturday evening.
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Lorne Film Festival Lorne Film 2016 will bring partners, film makers, industry professionals, local and international visitors, party lovers, and the digital community together to celebrate the creative brilliance of film. With the theme ‘Looking Forward’ – embracing the future of film in Australia, Lorne Film a ‘must event’ for true festival lovers. November 11 – 13
“We are trying to get people to network with one another and hopefully produce some commercial success along the way by connecting people. There were some good examples of that last year; we had a guy from Melbourne come down who was launching a product called ‘Air-buldge’ which is like a Bluetooth travel lock for your luggage,” Wells says. “He was interviewed by Robert Scoble who is one of the US’s top pitchers who was down last year and Robert posted
“The tech industry is really on a big growth curve in Geelong. You have the downward spiral of manufacturing in Geelong and what seem to be been embraced are technology companies, software companies, app developers, and digital agencies. There is an appetite within the community for something like this, so the community support from organisations has been significant.” Wells stresses the importance of females within the techindustry, and how that has been a large focus of the forthcoming event. “One of the things we have really tried to do this year as well is to provide fair representation to the women in the tech sector. In terms of gender equality and diversity, one of the things we see in a more general sense is that women in the tech sector are represented
at 20 per cent of tech jobs. A lot of other tech conferences really avoid the whole factor of women in the industry, which is a real shame, because you can see form the line-up we have put together, that there is a lot of very influential women in the technology sector.” As the summits second year running, the event has expanded into a two-day event. According to Wells, this expansion forwards the summits goals for the future. “There is now a second day being held around the arts precinct in Geelong Arts precinct near the library and Johnson’s Park. It’s gone from a one-day event to a two-day event within a year and we are hoping that keeps expanding. We are kind of modelling it off SXSW in Austin, Texas that is actually now 10 days with three overlapping festivals. That’s kind of the aspiration and it is certainly what we are seeing from a community support perspective.” To find about more information about Pivot Summit and tickets head to their website.
When & Where: Pivot Summit @ Various Venues, Geelong – December 2
Tripod 101 Hits
Bruthen Blues & Arts Festival
Odyssey Short Film Festival
For musicians they’re funny and for comedians they sure can sing. 20 years since showbiz legends Tripod started, they have come out with 101Hits – a hilarious, chaotic and occasionally nail biting tour and Songbook. They will be randomly selecting songs from said songbook and playing them. See them at The Capital, Bendigo’s Performing Arts Centre on November 19.
A feature packed weekend of music, arts, entertainment, food, markets and activities for the whole family. Bruthen comes alive for the annual Blues & Arts Festival – Australia’s biggest little blues festival. The line-up includes James Southwell Band featuring Charlie Wooton and Chris Wilson, as well as Chase The Sun, Geoff Achison and Lachy Doley Band. February 17 – 19 2017.
Odyssey Geelong Year 11 and 12 Media Studies Film Festival is the yearly showcase of the talents of young film makers in Secondary School across Geelong, Surf Coast and the Bellarine, giving a unique opportunity for young people to show their films to the community. Running since 2013, it is held at Village Cinemas Geelong on Saturday December 3.
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Geelong’s Emerging Artists Group Emerging Artists Geelong is a group ran by the Geelong Arts Society which focuses on hosting workshops, exhibitions and educating others on art for emerging artists each year. Forté chat to mentor artist Dare Tekin about the program and the upcoming exhibition ‘Anthropoid’. Hey, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forté Magazine, how are you and what are you up to at the moment? Hi thanks for taking the time to chat with us again. It’s been a busy time for all especially with the end of the year fast approaching.
The Amazing Travelling Comedy Tour Five of Australia’s best stand-up comics are heading regional as part of The Amazing Travelling Comedy Tour, with Aaron Gocs, Matt Steward. Angus Gordon, Nick Capper and Jess Perkins. Forté chat with stitch up comedian Aaron and RAW comedy finalist Jess ahead of the tour. Thanks for taking the time to chat with Forté Magazine. How are you and what are you up to at the moment? Jess: I am very well, thank you very much for asking! I am currently sitting at my desk, eating a toasted sandwich (cheese and tomato) and hoping my just-washed hair will dry in time for me to leave for work. Aaron: Good thanks. Lots of dad duties for my two daughters mixed in with some comedy. There has been a lot of talk about the tour. How did you get involved in this one? Jess: My good friends at Stupid Old Studios wanted to take some stand up comedy on the road, and they kindly asked me to come along. I thought about it for approximately 0.003 seconds before yelling ‘YES’. As a regional stand-up comedy tour, any expectations for the tour and the regional audiences? Jess: I’m looking forward to performing in Ballarat, where a lot of my family are based. I’ve spent so much time there all through my life so it’s nice to be heading to Ballarat for a reason other than Christmas
Five Local Arts Instagrammers to Follow
lunch at Grandmas. I’ve been super lucky to tour regionally a fair bit this year, as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow. So I have an idea of what to expect from audiences. But people always say that as if people in regional areas are like aliens and don’t understand our fancy Melbourne humour. They’re just normal people! We’re all the same! Aaron: Looking forward to perform to some people who may not see much stand-up usually. Do you already have your material planned for the show? What is your process for coming up with material for a tour like this one? Jess: I have an idea of the material I will do, but there’s always flexibility. When you’re doing gigs like these tour shows, you want to show the audience your best stuff and make sure you really pack a punch. That said, sometimes you don’t really know what’s going to make them laugh until you’re already on stage. There has to be some room to change your set to match the audience.
Aaron: Yes I have material - I try to do the best stuff that I can. Are there any times where you struggle to think up funny material, how do you overcome that? Aaron: I just do things that make me happy and that I think are funny. I won’t put out something just for the sake of it. As a comedian, you probably wouldn’t have too many boundaries in life. Is there anything you wouldn’t talk about in your shows? Jess: Zebras. There is NOTHING funny about Zebras. Aaron: I don’t like crude or obnoxious comedy so try to steer clear of that. A lot of it is about me. What are your plans after the tour, any other upcoming endeavours? Jess: Just working towards the Comedy Festival for next year. Doing lots of gigs, writing new material and working towards putting on a ripper show!
Now in its 4th year of encouraging, educating and empowering emerging artists in their craft, has the program changed in any way this year? Still working with a small group of young local artists, this year has really seen the community embrace the program, taking it to that next level in conjunction with the Art Society, Deakin, local artists and little creatures all showing their support. You guys have the upcoming Anthropoid Show coming up soon, can you tell us a little bit about that? ‘Anthropoid’ is a group exhibition put together by six local emerging artists who finished VCE last year. Anabelle Stonehouse, Jack Grayson, Pascalle Bailey, Nay Bu Soe Htoo, Paris Smith and Kirraley Hardiman, have worked individually to investigate the human form. Each focusing on their own practice, you can expect
to see a variety of works on show, using differing techniques and imagery, both two and three dimensional, real and imagined. What sort of work was entailed in the lead up, do the artists have complete creative control over the exhibition and how long has this been in process? The group has had to juggle work/ life/school commitments, whilst also planning the show. Get togethers, workshops, meeting other artists are done in their own time, as well as organising the finer details of putting together the final show. It’s a lot of work to be achieved in a year and, yes, most importantly that creative control lies with the group.
and not always taking yourself too seriously. Have you got any plans or changes for the program next year? Yes, but we are keeping that tight lipped at the moment. Still a small group but possibly some more opportunities in the making. Thanks again for talking with us, is there anything else you’d like to add before we finish up? Just thank you. There’s a long list….to Forté, Deakin, Art Society and Little Creatures for all their support over the year, the artists and galleries that we have met along the way, and especially the people that have helped and guided the group throughout.
When and Where: Anthropoid Opening Night @ Deakin Waterfront the Sally Walker Gallery, Deakin Waterfront from 5pm - 7:30pm – November 11. Image by Annabelle Stonehouse
What are the benefits for emerging artists to be involved in an exhibition like this? The whole experience! As the year has gone on, the interaction with the Geelong Arts community and the development of their own practice, as well as getting noticed independently as an artist which is quite difficult at the best of times. As mentors, what do you consider the biggest challenge for emerging artists? Time management, patience
Aaron: Plans are to be involved in as much cool comedy stuff that I can!
When & Where: Babushka Lounge, Ballarat – November 10, Workers Club, Geelong – November 11 & The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine – November 17
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SURFBEAT
Written by Anthony Morris
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Written by john (dr john) lamp
Written by Paul S. Taylor
By John Foss
Charlie Brooker’s TV series Black Mirror has been an internet fave since it first launched in 2011, so it’s hardly surprising that with a third season just launched on Netflix, there’s been a lot of online chatter about his trademark grimly funny take on the future of social media. It’s also not that surprising that not all of the talk has been positive: while the first two seasons and a Christmas Special only added up to seven episodes, this new season almost doubles that, with the six episodes also adding all new, not-Brooker writers and directors into the mix. So you’ve got the long-time fans saying it’s not the same now that outsiders are playing in the sandbox; you’ve also got the people who liked Black Mirror when it was a cool thing not everyone knew about who are slightly miffed that it’s now on Netflix alongside various Marvel series and loads of old movies. There’s also been a backlash against the shows tried and true take on the future, in which developments in phones, social media, reality television and the like all turn out to be great ways to dehumanise ourselves and each other. Sure, not everything about technology is bad; on the other hand, having someone point out that the profit-driven march of technology just might kinda suck is a refreshing breath of fresh air in a world where being generally pro-technology is seen as the price of admission. But while they’re all valid reasons for people to dislike Black Mirror, my personal suspicion is that the big influx of disgruntled viewers in large part boils down to viewers coming to the show with expectations it was never going to meet. Much as the show looks like a techsavvy version of The Twilight Zone, its real origins lie in the 90s comedy work of UK genius Chris Morris. His often disturbingly plausible fake news shows The Day Today and (especially) Brass Eye tackled social issues with a seemingly straight-faced but thoroughly bizarre zeal. Often silly yet plausible developments in technology played a major part in his crazy scenarios – everything from “vertical farms” to “pervert mechanics” building a crude Iron Manstyle suit so a crippled paedophile could continue to menace children. Brooker was (and is) a huge Chris Morris fan, with his early books Unnovations and Tv Go Home clearly influenced by Morris, and they later worked together on Nathan Barley, another show that predicted the grim present of social media and constant observation (while also being very funny). So whereas a lot of viewers seem to expect Black Mirror to be straightforward extrapolation or twist-ending thrills like countless US anthology shows before it, a large part of the show’s DNA comes from making up bizarre yet plausible extensions of today’s technology and then having them play out for laughs. Put another way, there seems to be a lot of talk about Black Mirror at the moment featuring people praising the first episode (“The National Anthem”) – the one where social pressure forces the UK PM to give in to kidnapper’s demands that he have sex with a pig on national television - for predicting our current shame-driven social media climate; there aren’t so many people praising it because having a politician have sex with a pig is, well… kind of funny.
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Hello, hi, hey and welcome to the hundredth edition of Pulp! This milestone snuck up on me, to be honest – I only realised that this was the hundredth column I’ve written for Forté as I actually went to write it. I can only blame uni for this one – I’m neck deep in exam study at the moment, and to be perfectly honest, there isn’t much else capturing my attention besides the intricacies of encryption and project management. It’s a glamorous life. Without any further ado, let’s dive into the murky waters of this week’s comic: Black Science, written by industry veteran Rick Remender (Low, Uncanny X-Force and a butt-tonne of other Marvel titles). Grant McKay has seemingly done the impossible; he’s deciphered Black Science, and punched a hole in reality. His creation, the Pillar, can transport people across time, space and dimensions – every possible reality is his to explore. Every alien world, every alternate timeline, every civilisation is at his fingertips. The problem? Grant and his team are jumping randomly through dimensions – courtesy of a saboteur – and the vast majority of those dimensions want them all dead. With his kids, his colleagues and his lover relying on him, Grant needs to fix the Pillar’s navigation system and find a way home. Black Science pretty much lives and breathes weirdness. With all the jumping between dimensions, the environments the team finds themselves in are completely, totally and utterly alien, and it’s bloody fantastic. The book exudes that old-school sci-fi feeling; it’s like Buck Rogers meets a dark-n-gritty Star Trek on an acid trip. It’s less of a journey home and more of a struggle to even make it to the next, randomlytimed jump – the team could be stuck in a new, horrific dimension for hours, minutes or even days. It’s not like the team is exactly unified, either. With Grant having spent his time alternating between working on the Pillar and cheating on his wife with one of his team members, his kids trapped with him and his utterly unlikable boss and his sycophantic assistant along for the ride as well, Grant’s feeling the heat. And it makes for palpable tension. What was initially a difficult task has become nearly impossible; without proper facilities, parts and time, the team is doomed to wander the dimensions forever – great for us readers, but not so much for the characters. Remender and artist Matteo Scalera (Secret Avengers, Incorruptible) make for a fantastic team. Scalera does a lot of the heavy lifting in bringing the alternate dimensions to life – whether it’s a German army taking on tech-heavy American Indians, or a bunch of ghost-possessed monkeys (yes, that’s a thing), the sense of depth and pure weirdness he puts on the page is a big part of the appeal. Remender’s concepts are bizarre, intriguing and make for one hell of a story. While I talk about sci-fi a lot – obviously, it’s a big interest of mine – Remender has a habit of writing stories that have really interesting, slightly-off-kilter settings that make his stories all the more interesting. That said, I don’t think Black Science will appeal to the exclusively capes-n-cowls crowd – it’s definitely one of those niche, kinda artistic books that really thrives at publishers like Image. Black Science is a love letter to sci-fi and its fans, and if that sounds like your thing I highly recommend picking it up. ‘Til next time, folks!
proudly presented by the sleepy hollow blues club Wa ng a r atta, F r iday night, straight into it! The Wangaratta Jazz and Blues Festival has come and gone for 2016, and some very wonderful musical experiences are now history. A jazz and blues festival is an ideal combination – the two styles of music are so close together - same roots, just diverging styles. The first sounds we heard were Blues Brothers 3677 (just Google the postcode) with their versions of the tunes the movie made famous. Opening at Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre (WPAC) was an amazing session with Monash Arts Ensemble: Nyilipidgi with Daniel Ngukurr Boy Wilfred and David Yipinni Wilfred. This was jazz structures, with David right into it on the didge and Daniel on clapsticks and chanting. For me, the most haunting was the middle section with trombones echoing Daniel’s chanting. We walked from WPAC to the Hume Precinct with the tones of Chris Wilson, Phil Manning and James Southwell drifting down Ovens Street with a wonderful echo and Monique Di Mattina packed the Pinsent Hotel with some very cool sounds, including Paul Williamson on the sax. Saturday started with the Luke Howard Trio in Wangaratta Anglican Cathedral. Straight on to the CD list! Back at the Hume Precinct, the food vendors were in full flight and we listened to the MBAS Unearthed while eating lunch. This year the MBAS talent is the Neil Hawker Band, formed in 2015 by Neil who has been playing around Australia as a sideman for a number of bands with differing genres. Only 18 months together, a very polished and sophisticated sound, excellent performers. They were followed by Greg Dodd and the Hoodoo Men. Despite the fact that they’ve been down here relatively recently, how could you miss them? Then back to The Pinsent for the evening with Collided Balls from Melbourne with some Frank Traynor styled pieces. Sunday kicked off with the Ronan Guilfoyle Trio from Ireland. Over there they are also known as The Long Way Round, from their habit of taking a theme and working it into variations. It was some fascinating work - structure underlying freedom. They were followed by the Sandy Evans Trio with Bobby Singh. With a very well developed fusion of western and Indian rhythms, this is another one for the CD list. Listening to Fiona Boyes & The Fortune Tellers was a must. This lady just gets better and better. It is no surprise she is getting so well known and liked in the USA – which is good as long as she doesn’t forget to come back regularly. Our weekend finished with James Morrison’s Jazz Academy bands. They were having just too much fun. This is what I like to see with younger players - excellence, but not forgetting that music should be enjoyable. In summary, a great program, a new venue layout, dodged a light shower, possibly fewer people on the streets, but sensational music, roll on 2017! See you Sat 19th at “Pistol’s Blues Roulette - John Luke Shelley with Ben Wicks & Suit” – I’m not real sure what the Roulette will be, but the names are right, and it sounds very promising!
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Welcome to THTH, Forté’s premier source of all things heavy, hard, fast and metal. With the recent “surprise-release” of Avenged Sevenfold’s new album The Stage the internet’s best super sleuths AKA overly-obsessed-metal-fans-with-too-muchtime-on-their-hands have started, well, obsessing about the fact the band will be releasing even more music on December 9. There’s heaps of alleged clues online to do with stuff like a hidden message when the band played “The Stage” live and web store logos and previous interviews and stuff. There’s probably a Reddit somewhere about it with fans expending too much effort trying to make something out of nothing, but we won’t know until the new music, possibly entitled Voltaic Oceans, is released, if it’s even released. Nothing beats a surprise release and A7X have done the almost impossible in the age of internet leaks - held a secret tight for long enough to drop a killer album upon the world without warning. And the best thing of all, this album and its supposed follow up has focussed everyone’s attention away from speculating upon speculations about when Tool will release an album. In other news
“Destroyer 666 is the anti-christ” and they’ll unleash the wolves at Melbourne’s Max Watts tomorrow night on Friday November 11 as a part of their Australian Wildfire Tour 2016 (I still think the Australian Wildfire Tour Two Thousand and Six Six Six Teen would have been a cooler name). Deftones with very special guests Karnivool and Voyager will be at Festival Hall tomorrow night on Friday November 11. Renowned metal fan and comedian Bill Bailey will be a Geelong’s Costa Hall on Monday November 14 and Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on Wednesday November 16. Contemporary music summit Face The Music will be held at State Library Victoria on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 November. Superheist and Segression will play Melbourne’s Max Watts on Friday November 18. Ne Obliviscaris with special guests The Ocean and Jack The Stripper will play 170 Russell on Friday November 25. Progfest feat. Caligula’s Horse, Cirlces, We Lost The Sea, Chaos Divine, Alithia, Orsome Welles, Transience, Dyssidia, Bear The Mammoth, Figures,Qlaye Face and Enlight will be held at the Corner Hotel on Saturday December 3. Katatonia will play the Corner Hotel on Saturday December 10. Once Human will release their new album Evolution in January. Refused, Sick Of It All and High Tension will play Melbourne’s Prince Of Wales on Tuesday January 24. Periphery will be at Melbourne’s 170 Russell on Sunday February 5. Their new album Periphery III: Select Difficulty is out now. Opeth with special guests Caligula’s Horse will play 170 Russell on Tuesday February 7 (sold out) and Wednesday February 8 (second and final show). The Thrash, Blast and Grind Festival featuring Psycroptic, King Parrot, Whoretopsy, Black Rheno and Revocation will be held at Melbourne’s Max Watts on Friday February 17. Nuclear Assault will head to Oz for their first and last time and you can catch them at Melbourne’s Max Watts on Wednesday February 22. Meshuggah and Thy Art Is Murder will play 170 Russell on Tuesday March 14 (sold out) and Wednesday March 15. The Direct Underground Fest featuring Marduk, Gorguts, MGLA, Ulcerate and Departe will be held at the Corner Hotel on Saturday March 18.
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
ALOHA SHORTS… Hawaiian shirts with style and a story
M a st e r s u r f filmm a k e r Jack McCoy was in Torquay recently talking about one of his passions - the spirit of Aloha - which he talks about regularly around the country. This time however, there was a twist. Jack was presenting a talk at Patagonia on the unique history of the Aloha or Hawaiian shirt. Hawaiian shirts have a pretty amazing background. They might look like something your surf crazy uncle wears at family gatherings, but the shirts themselves are steeped in Hawaiian culture and history. The first Hawaiian shirts were made by a Japanese trader in Honolulu in 1915 using Kimono fabrics and prints repeated together. These early shirts were bright and colourful, quickly becoming popular with tourists and homesick Japanese residents of Hawaii. Oddly enough the first Hawaiian shirts featured images of Mt Fuji, geisha girls, shrines and other Japanese icons. Twenty years later Chinese merchant Ellery Chun started producing the modern Aloha shirts. This time surfers were attracted to the bright shirts featuring colourful patterns repeated with a short sleeve cut. Within years, dozens of businesses began manufacturing the colourful shirts for tourists and surfers. The World War II saw a demand of Hawaiian shirts. US serviceman on leave in Hawaii bought up big, and the popularity of the shirts spread to the United States mainland. By the fifties, the designs were more reflective of Hawaiian culture. Pineapples, waves, surfers and tropical vistas all found their way onto these bright shirts and beach wear. In 1961, Elvis landed in Hawaii for the filming of his cult classic Blue Hawaii. The film gave Elvis, Hawaiian culture and Aloha shirts massive exposure around the world. Elvis was one of the world’s top entertainers at this stage, so when he appeared in the film (and on the album cover) wearing a Hawaiian shirt, sales took off all over America. During the next decade, the popularity of Elvis, Gidget and a bunch of beach movies gave Hawaiian shirts a massive promotional push into the USA. Suddenly everyone from Mick Jagger, Bob Hope, Richard Nixon, Tom Cruise and the original Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson were wearing them. Today Hawaiian shirts come in all shapes and sizes. A number of noted collectors in the USA have massive collections including John Lasseter (of Toy Story fame), and David Bailey who has over 25,000 Hawaiian shirts. The Aloha shirt has come a long way in 100 years… but has never gone out of style.
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Columns 43
fortnightly froth
Flashback Fridays The Eureka is coming back – and just in time for summer. Forté chat to the organiser Jordan Thulborn.
Hey Jordan, thanks for taking the time to chat with us, how are you and what are you up to at the moment? Hey guys thanks for getting in touch. Things have been busy but getting ready for what is set to be an exciting Summer. We are in the process of bringing downstairs of The Eureka back to life. So we hear things are changing up at Hashtag/Eureka, can you tell us a bit about what Flashback Fridays are all about? After the success of Oktoberfest and seeing the venue at it’s full potential we decided it was time to get cracking to get a regular thing happening over summer for the locals. The nightclub will still be upstairs but more so used for functions and our new monthly Saturday night Sea Horse, but downstairs will be open Thursday through to Saturday. And what sparked the idea to put this all together? Many conversations about The Eureka back in the day and hearing that bands such as Hunters and Collectors, INXS and Cold Chisel have graced the stage. Speaking with a lot of locals around town everyone seemed to have a story about the venue, so I wanted to bring that back for people.
44 Columns
There have been whispers it’s a bit of a return to the Eureka we know and love, will that be the case? What can we see coming back? Correct. We want to give the people of Geelong the Eureka they know and love. The pool table is the first thing that has returned, along with meals coming from the kitchen. Cover bands used to grace the venue from Thursday to Saturday so this is something punters can expect to see again. While we’re getting nostalgic, what’s your favourite memory from Eureka’s history? One of my first memories of The Eureka was when Blue Juice played a show on the main stage. This is actually one of the reasons - for the passion to get this happening again. People may have noticed the downstairs area of the venue was a bit quiet, what kind of vibe can the whole venue expect to have over summer? People can expect The Eureka as they all know it - as a pub and live entertainment venue. Food will cover all the basic quick snacks and meals to share while enjoying an evening out. The open-air roof spaces will also help create an outdoor atmosphere, while still being at the bar and enjoying entertainment.
↑↑ Bottles & Barrels advent beer calendar Come Christmas time and the silly season, we can’t think of anything better than cracking open a craft beer each day. Thanks to Bottles & Barrels our drinking tendencies are moderated in a festive manner. Merry Beermas!
In terms of bands, will the focus mostly be on local acts or are there plans to get touring acts as well? We will be having local bands on the weekly. Young cover band The Hollow will be playing through until the new year, with a mix of acoustic musicians on Fridays. Touring acts are also a big focus for the venue with some big names coming in 2017!
level entertainment plaza. Live music, food, functions and work break ups, along with the nightclub upstairs for big events - you can expect a bit of everything to come.
When & Where: Fridays @ Hashtag/Eureka is located at 98 Little Malop St, Geelong.
Lastly, we’re all about evolving here at Forté. What else has Hashtag/Eureka got planned? Lots of things are in the works, but the aim is to get the venue working as a multi-
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↑↑ Philips Picopix Pocket Projector There are times where projecting things on walls, at parties and on people’s faces are needed. This is why you need one of these bad boys in your pocket charged at all times.
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Columns 45
Reviews
Films reviewed by Anthony Morris
↑↑ Doctor Strange ↑↑ Francofonia:
↑↑ Nocturnal Animals
↑↑ Arrival
↑↑ The Accountant
Moving between a present-day freighter at risk of losing its cargo of precious artworks in a storm and the attempts to preserve France’s cultural heritage during the Nazi occupation of Paris – with side lectures from Napoleon and a literal embodiment of France’s highest ideals as they wander the Louvre – no-one could accuse Francofonia of a lack of ambition. In part a companion to his 2003 classic Russian Ark, Russian film-maker Alexander Sokurov (who appears on-camera Skyping the captain of the struggling freighter) focuses on one question: how does art survive? Much of the film’s story deals with the conversations between Count Franziskus Wolff Metternich (Benjamin Utzerath), a German officer sent by Hitler to loot Paris’ art treasures, and Louvre chief Jacques Jaujard (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing), who discovers Metternich has no intention of following his orders. The film itself is a sprawling essay, moving from fact to fantasy and speculation. It’s a compelling, thought-provoking journey.
Susan (Amy Adams) is a fancy art dealer in Los Angeles, her life spent at glamorous parties surrounded by wealthy friends. But her life is rotting from the inside: her husband (Armie Hammer) is dragging them down financially with a failing company and is almost certainly cheating on her. Then a manuscript arrives. It seems her ex has written a novel and dedicated it to her, saying their (very bad) break-up is what motivated him to write. It’s a thriller, the tale of a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) driving his family through Texas at night when a car load of threatening men force them off the road. As the story gets darker Susan can’t stop reading, but is she caught up in the tale or is her ex sending her some kind of sinister message? Tom Ford’s second film (after A Single Man) smashes together a hyper-fashionable yet icily menacing LA and a dusty neo-western crime thriller to gripping effect, creating a story that combines a portrait of Susan’s emotional state and a white-knuckle thrill ride to create something bigger than both of them. It looks great, and the cast is flawless; Michael Shannon’s work as a scruffy Texas law-man is stand out stuff.
When twelve huge alien ships appear across the globe (yes, there’s one near Australia) the world is stunned. And also puzzled: while there are aliens on board and they don’t seem overtly hostile, no-one knows what it is they want. Enter Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist selected for a team led by Colonel Weber (Forrest Whittaker) charged with communicating with the US’s alien craft. She and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) make fast progress, but with the rest of the world also progressing – in ways that suggest the aliens might be hostile after all – the clock is definitely ticking. The short story this is based on focused entirely on the alien translation efforts, and they’re the most successful elements here, really getting across the aweinspiring strangeness and difficulty of dealing with something truly alien. The thriller elements are more standard but do add a necessary sense of urgency to proceedings. Obviously a silence is going to be read as peaceful by some, menacing by others, and the difficulty – and importance – of interpreting meaning successfully is a big part of this film. Which makes it sound drier than it is: the alien contact stuff is genuinely awe-inspiring, the sense of exploration thrilling. Arrival is a must-see.
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is just your average autistic accountant working out of a country strip mall. Well, apart from a sideline in doing forensic accounting for many of the world’s top terrorists and drug lords. Plus also being a skilled killer – he presumably interned at Price Slaughterhouse - which probably explains how he’s lived this long. With the US Treasury (personified by J.K. Simmons) now on his tail, he takes a legal job figuring out who’s cooking the books at the robotics firm owned by Lamar Black (John Lithgow). But when he’s let go early he just can’t let it go, especially once he realises the life of fellow number-cruncher Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick) is at risk. And then people try to kill him and we all can guess how that works out. Director Gavin O’Connor gives this cheesy material a sombre, serious tone a la the Bourne films that only partially disguises its superhero heart; after all, Wolff gained his kill powers because his special forces assassin dad believed controlled aggression would give his autistic son focus. Affleck’s charm and (brief ) chemistry with Kendrick carries the film. Less plot and more action would definitely have helped: less cooking the books, more killing the crooks.
The Binge Episode XII: The B (inge) grade edition Written by Caitlin haddad
So for this Binge, I thought I’d change things up. If you know me, you know I love films below the A Grade - but they gotta be quality. Here are three to give your soul LIFE.
01. The Boy Next Door: Ahh, I just watched this beaut for the first time last weekend and I was surprised at the KWA LA TEE. A woman (JLO) is seduced by the hot teen that moves next door and then when she cuts it off he turns into Glen Close from Fatal Attraction. It
had subverted latent themes (young psycho lover being male for once) references to Homer’s Iliad and some serious gore – so how can it be B Grade you say? Aside from the sizzling sex scene, quotes from the film include “I love your mother’s cookies.” I’ll leave that for you.
Now, this film is very low budget which is what gives it it’s B grade status, but in saying that the plot of the film is super interesting! Based off the folk-tale of Vagina Dentata which has heavily influenced the horror genre (vampires anyone?) it’s about a young virginal girl who finds she has teeth in her vagina. You don’t mind so much all those penises being bitten off because all the males in this film are like rapists but it’s a very interesting
Thu 17 Nov: 1.15pm, Fri 18: 12.15pm, Sat 19: 7.00pm, Sun 20: 12.00pm, Mon 21: 7.00pm, Tue 22: 4.15pm, Wed 23: 7.00pm, Fri 25: 4.30pm, Sat 26: 3.00pm, Mon 28: 4.45pm, Tue 29: 12.30pm, wed 30: 2.45pm
The Handmaiden
www.pivotcinema.com.au
46 Reviews
2016 | Drama/Thriller | 2h 47m
Thu 17 Nov: 3.00pm, Fri 18: 8.30pm, Sat 19: 1.45pm, Mon 21: 2.30pm, Tue 22: 8.00pm, Wed 23: 12.30pm, Thu 24:
The Film Wrap
03. Zombeavers:
02. Teeth:
Where Am I going?
Cnr. Moorabool & Verner St. South Geelong
commentary on social sexual norms in society. ~ dark ~ but a good film!
Probably one of the most TERRIBLE D grade films out there that it is SO bad it basically loops back around and becomes good. Think summer vacay, hot girls, dumb jocks and a hidden threat beneath the surface (hint: it’s radioactive beavers). It goes from bad to worse when they get bitten and turn into a weird humanbeaver hybrid - because obvs.
Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) might use magic rather than technology, but it’s hard not to see his origin as basically Tony Stark 2.0. He’s a self-centered guy who’s charming – mostly towards ER doctor and friend-with-maybe-benefits Christine Palmer (Rachael McAdams) – and good with a wisecrack until a car accident mangles his hands and it seems like his days performing surgery are over. Increasingly desperate, he follows a trail east, ending up in Nepal. There he’s saved from thieves by Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who takes him to meet The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). She then literally slaps his materialistic world-view out of him and he dedicates himself to mystic teachings – but with Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a former pupil of The Ancient One, now killing sorcerers as part of his scheme to contact the Dread Dormammu and drag the planet into a Dark Dimension, is sticking around really the best thing for his health? The story is by the numbers Marvel boilerplate, but the cast is good – Cumberbatch really sells Strange despite a lack of a real character arc – and Director Scott Derrickson (mostly known for low budget horror movies) creates some impressively trippy visuals for the magic battles. It’s average Marvel fare: hopefully next time Strange gets something really strange to do.
The Light Between Oceans:
Singles Simply Summed 01. Nick Murphy Stop Me (Stop You) trance, pacing, stretched
Beautifully shot and with strong lead performances from Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander as a 1920’s couple minding a lighthouse when a baby is washed ashore, only the overly formulaic story lets it down.
02. The Dead Daisies Song and Prayer
Hell or High Water:
western, dusty, rough
This modern-day western is gripping from start to finish, a solid character-based thriller that gets everything right.
03. PNAU Chameleon Banger, Hot, Steady
6.00pm, Fri 25: 4.30pm, Sat 26: 3.00pm, Mon 28: 8.30pm, Tue 29: 4.15pm, wed 30: 12.00pm
Captain Fantastic 2016 | Drama/Romance | 1h 58m
Thu 17 Nov: 6.00pm, Sun 20: 4.00pm, Fri 25: 12.00pm, Sun 27: 12.30pm
Julieta 2016 | Drama/Romance | 1h 39m
Thu 17 Nov: 8.15pm, Fri 18: 2.00pm, Sat 19: 8.45pm, Sun 20: 6.15pm, Mon 21: 8.45pm, Tue 22:
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6.00pm, Wed 23: 3.15pm, Thu 24: 12.00pm, Fri 25: 9.00pm, Sat 26: 1.00pm, Mon 28: 2.45pm, Tue 29: 9.00pm, wed 30:6.30pm,
Joe Cinque’s Consolation 2016 | Drama | 1h 50m
Fri 18 Nov: 4.15pm, Sat 19: 4.45pm, Tue 22: 2.00pm (M&B), Thu 24: 2.00pm, Fri 25: 2.15pm, Sun 27: 6.30pm, Mon 28: 12.30pm
Sour Grapes
Girl Asleep
2016 | Documentary | 1h 26m
2015 | Drama | 1h 27m
Sat 19 Nov: 12.00pm, Sun 20: 8.15 (FINAL)
Mon 21 Nov: 5.15pm, Tue 22: Sun 27: 4.45pm
Broke
The Neon Demon
2016 | Drama | 1h 45m
2016 | Drama/Thriller | 1h 58m
Sun 20 Nov: 1.45pm (FINAL)
Thu 24 Nov: 8.45pm, Sat 26: 9.30pm, Sun 27: 8.45pm, Mon 28: 6.30pm, Tue 29: 7.00pm, wed 30:8.30pm
Francofonia 2015 | Drama/History | 1h 30m
Mon 21 Nov: 12.30pm, Wed 23: 5.15pm, Thu 24: 4.15pm, Sun 27: 2.45pm, Tue 29: 2.30pm
NaranaFest
1.
When: Saturday November 5th Photos by: Amanda Sherring 1 & 2: A.B. Original 3: Emily Wurramara 4: Gawurra
4.
3.
2.
c d r e vi e w s
↑↑ Alister Turrill A Toast to Better Times Independent Reviewed by Alexander Lightfoot
For Geelong locals, the name Alister Turrill is a familiar one. And luckily we’ve been able to witness him grow as a musician, grow from strength to strength to become one of the finest young blues performers in the region. With this release, A Toast to Better Times, Alister plays the guitar, ukulele, kick drum and tambourine, and of course singing. The first track, ‘Lucky as a Man Can Be’ eases things in gently, with a steady percussion throughout and the focus being on his vocals. The latter seems to be the main thread for the release, focusing on Alister’s raw, deep and constant vocals. An interesting addition is ‘Sleepy Monday Afternoon’ which features Alister playing the ukulele and instantly alters the sound of the release. Overall it’s another great, diverse release from Alister, though it’s worth mentioning that to truly experience the energy and soul from Alister, nothing beats seeing him live. There’s a certain element to his voice that just can’t be captured in an EP.
↑↑ Claude Hay
↑↑ Freya Josephine Hollick
Roller Coaster
The Unceremonious Junking of Me
Independent
Heart of the Rat Records
Reviewed by Alexander Lightfoot
Reviewed by Valerie Vatoosh
Knowing Claude Hay’s music and its high-energy nature, having a release titled ‘Roller Coaster’ was a red giveaway for its contents. Opening with ‘Burn’ it’s a slow-starter that focuses more on the guitar riffs spread throughout and Hay’s singing – but things quickly pick up pace. Interestingly ‘What It Takes’ has a slightly John Butler feel to it. It’s fast-paced and the kind of single that’s easy to sing-a-long to and features a killer guitar solo – something Hay is known for. A highlight is title track, ‘Roller Coaster’ with its slightly darker feel. Worthy mentions also go to ‘Hold You Up’ where Hay showcases his vocals in line with his guitar work and ‘Running’ for its damn catchy lyrics and ‘241’. Throughout Hay exhibits his vocal ability, reaching the higher notes before quickly changing back to something a bit more consistent. Just like his music changes pace constantly, his vocals mimic it exactly. If you’re a fan of guitar heavy singles, jangly hooks and a genre that toes the line of blues, roots and rock, then Claude Hay’s release is one you can bet on liking.
With this release, it marks Freya Josephine Hollick’s return following her 2014 release Beauty and Sorrow. Inspired in part by early blues songs, it’s dark folk at its finest that brings in an old world charm missed out with many musicians these days. It’s worth mentioning that with this album, it features Kat Mear (from Cash Savage and the Last Drinks) playing fiddle in line with Hollick on guitar and Pete Fidler on dobro and mandolin. ‘A Man is the Water’ is an interesting song, both for its content and its lack of any real chorus. Hollick moans and croons through the track as she tells the story of a man in the water (which was inspired by coming across such a scene on a walk one day). A highlight for me is ‘Saccharine’, in which Hollick’s vocals seem to coast above the gentle instrumental arrangement. It’s all about the content and the vocals, and you can’t help but be drawn in to listen, much like whispering secrets in each other’s ear, this track has that effect. ‘Winter Flower’ is also a particularly beautiful track. Overall, it’s a nod to music of the past, to simpler times and a massive timewarp overall.
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↑↑ Sun God Replica Grandular Fever Independent Reviewed by Alexander Lightfoot
Okay, let’s start of with awesome name – and that stands for the band and the release. This one’s not to be confused with glandula fever, which isn’t as fun as this album. Trust me on that one. The release is heavy on guitar riffs, particularly in the opening of ‘Judgement Day’ and it pays a nod to rock of the 70/80s. The vocals are raw, rough and compliment the gritty edge to each guitar strum. The harmonising in ‘Celestial Building Block’ (while a humorous line in itself) adds to the homage and influence the band have obviously had. While the track stays relatively on the same level, it’s still a highlight for the sparse break outs that happen later towards the track. And hell, that guitar solo. Spot, fucking, on. Despite the rhyming in ‘Rock and a Stone’ I can appreciate the sentiment in the song, singing “I don’t care if you don’t approve”. It’s the kind of track that’s so perfect in its imperfections and fuck you ‘tude. And to be honest, that should really be what music is all about. Saying something rather than worrying about what everyone thinks. Either way, this release is a guaranteed guitar riff-fest the kind your mum would hate if you played up loud.
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#Fortéscenepix
homehouse
beavs bar
homehous e
beavs bar
#hashtag
# h ashtag
barwon cl ub
i ris h murphy’s
piano bar
barwon club
i r ish m u r p h y ’ s
the juke
connect to people, places and events on socialpagesvip.com 48 Scenepix
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the juke
geel ong rsl
#hashtag
piano bar
t o a st t o the coast
sla t e p o o l lounge
w o r k e r s club geelong
toas t to the coas t
sla t e p o o l l o u n g e
to as t to the coas t
toast to the coast
workers cl ub geel ong
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Scenepix 49
The guide T HUR S 10TH BABUSHKA LOUNGE: Amazing Travelling Comedy Tour BEAVS BAR: Dean McInnes CHERRY BAR: The Sugarcanes
SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC: Paige Duggan Quartet
OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Backyard Boogie
PISTOL PETES: Sweet Felicia & the Honeytones
Sundays, Owen Blundell and Terry Gordon
WORKERS CLUB: The Amazing Travelling Comedy Show
PISTOL PETES: Dave Diprose
SUNBURY STREETLIFE FESTIVAL
SA T 12TH
SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC: Papa Pilko & The Binrats and Frank Sultana & The Sinister Kids
CHERRY BAR: Cherry Jam Mondays
A DAY ON THE GREEN (Mt Duneed Estate) AIREYS PUB: Tin Alley BABUSHKA LOUNGE: Voodoo Soup - Soup Bus Fundraiser Barwon club: DJ Blackwave
MON 14TH
BELMONT HOTEL: Live Band
BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan, Karaoke, Live Band
CHERRY BAR: High Tension, Infinite Void
EATING OUT
THE EASTERN: The Ramshackle Army, Agent 37, Mesa Cosa, Dead Joe, The Second Sex, Northwood, Good For Wednesday, Trucks, Lethal Sound Division, Joe Guiton (solo) and Tim Hampshire
MO ND AY
KAROVA LOUNGE: British India
GEELONG RSL: Babba
T HUR S 1 7 T H
MUSIC MAN BENDIGO: Wounded Pig, Grudge!, Stone Djoser, Dead Root, Callous
GPAC: John Williamson
BABUSHKA LOUNGE: Simon Carroll
Barwon club: K Rock Battle of the Bands BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan BELMONT HOTEL: Live Band THE BRIDGE HOTEL: Mick Daley & The Corporate Raiders CHERRY BAR: Chris Wilson, Thin Lizzy Jailbreak 40th Anniversary Celebration, Live & Dangerous CITY QUARTER BAR: Live entertainment and DJ COSTA HALL: Boy & Bear THE CORNER (Melbourne): Holy Holy THE EASTERN: Wounded Pig, Grudge, Rotten Cheek, Good Time Aussie Bogolars, Bury Me in Autumn
KAROVA LOUNGE: The Shorts, Trucks, Witches Child, The Rowlettes MAX HOTEL: This’s For Abbey WESLEY ANNE (Northcote): Alister Turrill OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Croaky Christmas Karaoke, Friday Frivolities PISTOL PETES: Travis Bowlin (Nashville USA)
50 The Guide
HAMER HALL (Melbourne): Bill Bailey
EDGE: Live Music and DJ
ELEPHANT & CASTLE:
$20 Steak & Drink night
GOLD DIGGERS:
$10 Lunch Specials
OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs): THE SPHINX HOTEL:
Parmi night Meals for $14
BEAVS BAR: Andy Forster
GEELONG RSL:
Steak Night $13
HOME HOUSE: Nunny vs Travlos
$15 Burger or Parmi
HOMEHOUSE: Keesh, DJ Philly
THE BRIDGE HOTEL: The Amazing Travelling Comedy Tour
GOLD DIGGERS:
OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs):
IRISH MURPHY’S: Brodie Farlech
CHERRY BAR: The Sugarcanes
KAROVA LOUNGE: Wax Nomads
THE EASTERN: Dirtclodfight, Agonhymn
BARWON CLUB: Sworn Enemy (USA)
IRISH MURPHY’S: John Braka
ELEPHANT & CASTLE:
EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ FACE THE MUSIC SUMMIT
LORNE HOTEL: The Rubens
MAX HOTEL: Wooshka
HASHTAG: Lives DJS
MAX HOTEL: Hey Charger
TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music
T HUR S D AY
PISTOL PETES: Flawed Peace
MUSIC MAN MEGASTORE: Society of Beggars
BIRD ROCK:
THE LOFT (Warrnambool): The Pretty Littles, Horace Bones, Slim Jafferies, Neighbourhood
OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Gillian and Terry
FRI 18TH
OSCAR’S ALEHOUSE (Belgrave): Alister Turrill
Barwon club: K Rock Battle of the Bands
BABUSHKA LOUNGE: Stuart Rose
OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Cam Kettle PISTOL PETE’S: Pistol Blues Roulette with John Luke Shelley, Ben Wicks & Suit
$20 Steak & Drink night
BIRD ROCK:
Steak Night, Drinks Specials
GEELONG RSL:
Pot and Parmi Night $13
OLD HEPBURN HOTEL (Hepburn Springs):
$20 Asahi Seafood & Chips Night
GOLD DIGGERS: MARTIANS CAFE:
Happy hour 5-6 $25 International Night including drink
MAX HOTEL:
Parmi Night
THE SPHINX HOTEL:
Schnitzel Night from $13
BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan
THE SPHINX HOTEL: Kisstroyer, Risky Bizzness w. Suzi Tate
THE SPHINX HOTEL: Rocktriv, Overdrive
BELMONT HOTEL: Live Band THE BENDIGO HOTEL (Melbourne): Sworn Enemy
SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC: The Cope Street Parade
CHERRY BAR: Chris Wilson, Adalita, Higgo’s Heavy Cherry VII, Taberah, Espionage, Kill Death Radio
TORQUAY HOTEL: The Rubens
ELEPHANT AND CASTLE:
THE WHALERS HOTEL: The Mellencamp Show
GOLD DIGGERS:
TORQUAY HOTEL: Creedence Clearwater Recycled THE WHALERS HOTEL: Dorsal Fins
A DAY ON THE GREEN (Rochford Wines) barwon club: PCPS & Pinky CITY QUARTER: Live music and DJ from 4pm THE EASTERN: Broads EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ ELEPHANT & CASTLE: The Pearly Shells GROVEDALE HOTEL: Rach Brennan KAROVA LOUNGE: Holy Holy, I Know Leopard, Alex L’Estrange LOVE LIVE MUSIC AT THE ‘G ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music
CITY QUARTER BAR: Friday Unwind from 5pm. Live with live entertainment and DJ THE EASTERN: From Oslo EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ FACE THE MUSIC SUMMIT THE GATEWAY: Sara Storer GROVEDALE HOTEL: Dear Ivy HASHTAG: Live DJs HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with Djs IRISH MURPHY’S: Irish Ash KAROVA LOUNGE: Remi, Baro THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Brady James Dead Language EP Launch MAX HOTEL: Trojan ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music
S UN 2 0 T H
Roast night
Mexican Night; $10 Margaritas
ELEPHANT & CASTLE:
PISTOL PETES: Andy Phillips & the Cadillac Walk
SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC: Lloyd Spiegel
Parmi night
WED NES D AY
THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Cooper Lower Impetus LP Launch, Runk, Righteous Desmond, The Peeks
SUN 13TH
IRISH MURPHY’S: Liv Cartledge
CHERRY BAR: Animal Hands, The Vendettas, Master Beta
HASHTAG: Live DJS, The Hollow, Ben Reyment, Justyn Green
HASHTAG: Seahorse: Zac Depetro, Orkestrated, Heath Renata, Samm Rosee, Femme Fatale & Local Legends
THE GATEWAY: The Adele & Amy Songbook
HOME HOUSE: Homehouse Fridays Party with Djs
CAPITAL THEATRE (Bendigo): Tripod
TUES D AY
WORKERS CLUB: Holy Holy
HASHTAG: Live DJs
RURAL YOUTH FORUM BENDIGO
RURAL YOUTH FORUM BALLARAT
GROVEDALE HOTEL: Enquire Within
GROVEDALE HOTEL: Liv Cartledge
EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ
GROVEDALE HOTEL: Luke Hindson
ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music
CHERRY BAR: Shewolf, Eat The Damn Orange, No Stairway
THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm
EDGE: Live Music and DJ
GPAC: Swan Lake
T UES 2 2 ND
BELMONT HOTEL: Live Band THE BRIDGE HOTEL: Henry Wagons
CHERRY BAR: Animal Hands, Red Light Riot, The Brain Snaps
CHERRY BAR: Cherry Jam Mondays
BEAVS BAR: Jeff Jordan
BLACK HATT: Smokin’ Joker
BEAVS BAR: Open Mic, Karaoke, Luke Biscan
MON 21ST
WED 1 6 T H
HASHTAG: Resident DJS
BABUSHKA LOUNGE: Harry Jakamarra
BARWON CLUB: River Rocks
THE BARWON HEADS HOTEL: Master of Dartness and Poker from 7pm
SUTTONS HOUSE OF MUSIC: Captain Pugwash
BEAVS BAR: Luke Biscan
THE EASTERN: Hideous Towns, Way Dynamic, Tropical Snakes
ANTHROPOID OPENING NIGHT
BABUSHKA LOUNGE: Daniel Jasper
CHERRY BAR: Shewolf, The Crookeds, Cash
GPAC: Donald Cant - My Journey, My Song
F R I 1 1 TH
AIREYS PUB: John Braka
T UES 1 5 T H
EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ
ULUMBARRA THEATRE (Bendigo): Boy & Bear
SAT 19TH
COSTA HALL: Bill Bailey
CHERRY BAR: Atomic Riot, The Lockhearts, Darcee Fox
PISTOL PETES: Kenny Miller Band
WORKERS CLUB: Alister Turrill
WED 2 3 R D
F R I D AY BIRD ROCK:
THE LORD NELSON: MAX HOTEL:
It’s Friday B!tches Thank Guinness It’s Friday! Happy hour 5-6 Happy Hour 5pm-7pm After Five
CAFE ZOO: Billy Bridge
S UND AY
CHERRY BAR: The Monkeywrench, Warped
BIRD ROCK:
CITY QUARTER: Perfect Sunday Sesh Live music and DJ from 4pm
GEELONG RSL:
$13 Carvery lunch
OLD HEPBURN HOTEL:
Parmi & Pot night
EDGE GEELONG: Live Music and DJ GROVEDALE HOTEL: Rach Brennan THE LOFT (Warrnambool): Cooper Lower Impetus LP Launch, Brady James, Righteous Desmond, The Peeks
ELEPHANT & CASTLE:
THE SPHINX HOTEL:
Sunday Sessions: $12 Jugs & Pizzas Parmi Night
Carvery from $17
TRIVI A
ODYSSEY TAVERN AND BREWERY: Live Music
BARWON HEADS HOTEL:
Trivia Thursday Night from 7:30pm
ELEPHANT AND CASTLE:
Trivia Wednesday from 8pm
OLD HEPBURN HOTEL: Karl S Williams
GOLD DIGGERS ARMS:
PISTOL PETES: Barrelhouse Blues with Lounge Lizards
MAX HOTEL:
THE SPHINX HOTEL: Country
FORTÉ 651
LORD OF THE ISLES: WORKERS CLUB:
Trivia Wednesday Night Trivia Thursday Night in the Courtyard Trivia Thursday Night Themed Trivia Wednesday Night
de sig n e d b y t e n n e il l ha rdy
FORTÉ 651
The Guide 51
METRE
EN M C I G A M
ER Y O R T S KIS S TRIBUTE ’S HOTTEST AUSTRALIA
TH SAT 19
L ADIES NIG
HN T 5 2 I R F
KIS
OV
W $68 O H S & 8 MEAL (G.A) $3 Y L N O SHOW )
N OV
TING (NO SEA
ES: $20 PRESAL OOR: $25 D ON THE
L L E S S U R MORRIS
WENDY N: TO E L P A T S DUSTY
DD SAT 3R
EC
OW: $60 H S & L MEA Y: $28 L N O W SHO
IFE F THE L ATION O R B E D L L E AC GFIE T Y SPRIN OF DUS
TH SAT 26
HT OUT
N OV
OW: $65 H S & L MEA Y: $35 L N O W SHO
CA
UP E N I L ZBAR
E IVE R UZI TAT D S . R W E NOV OV S S E SAT 12TH N Z Z I B Y K S I V O R N SAT 19TH A K H S O O V SAT 26 NO W *F R E E E
NTRY A
LL NIGH
T