Brag#663 by Furst Media

ISSUE NO. 663 MAY 18, 2016

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rock music news

the BRAG presents

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Rochelle Bevis, James Di Fabrizio and Augustus Welby

five things WITH

Your Band 3. Our band is made up of five members: Drey

Growing Up 1. Our band Key To The Highway is a band with an array of childhood musical influences and memories – you would be right to call us a group of modern day musical gypsies. Drey and sister Little B were fed a healthy dose of Chuck Berry, the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. I think

when you are exposed to different genres of music it makes you a healthy musician/performer.

Inspirations There is a feast of artists we love such as Robert Johnson, Led Zeppelin, Waylon Jennings, Stevie Nicks, Emmylou Harris, Ben

Metro Theatre Wednesday July 20

KEY TO THE HIGHWAY Harper, Bob Dylan and Willie Dixon, to name but a few. We love them for so many reasons, from the music to their stories and charisma.

Rollan on lead guitar and vocals, Bobbie Green on vocals and harmonica, Little B on rhythm guitar and vocals, Larry The Kid on bass and Skinny on drums. We formed in 2013 – being family we all decided to jam together and we found ourselves writing songs effortlessly, and that we all shared a big interest in Americana music. Then we teamed up with Larry The Kid, who played in a couple of local rockabilly bands, and Skinny, who is a busy session guy Drey played

PETER BJORN AND JOHN

THE 1975

with for a couple of years prior. The Music You 4. Make Heavy influences from the late ’60s/early ’70s roots rock bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Band, Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris and Ry Cooder. Last year we released our debut EP featuring single ‘Wild Wild Wind’ with producer Wade Keighran of Linear studios. The latest EP was recorded at Def Wolf Studios with producers Daniel Antix Malesev and Dave Hammer; we will be launching it at The Gasoline Pony in Marrickville on May 27. As for our live show you can expect a bit of everything, from full-flavoured country blues to tender ballads.

Music, Right Here, Right Now For musos the challenge is to always battle it out with a DJ. It is great to see a move towards more roots-based music. A band to check out is El Pollo – look out for these guys in the next year, beautiful harmonies. In terms of hearing great live music, it is scattered all around. Frankie’s Pizza and Shady Pines usually have some fine acts. What: Key To The Highway Part II out Friday May 27 independently With: Sam Newton Where: The Gasoline Pony When: Friday May 27

Slipknot

Sydney Olympic Park Saturday July 23

AT THE DRIVE-IN Enmore Theatre Sunday July 24

JAKE BUGG State Theatre Tuesday July 26

SAD GRRRLS FEST Feat: Le Pie, Coda Conduct, Twin Caverns + more Factory Floor Saturday October 8

American South”. See Black Tusk at The Bald Faced Stag on Saturday August 6.

DEFTONES DO THE HORDERN

Grammy Award-winning Californian alternative metal icons Deftones are returning to Sydney off the back of their hugely successful 2016 album Gore, which debuted at number one on the ARIA charts. They have spent their career always pushing ahead stylistically and crafting crushingly effective tracks that merge elements of a myriad of genres. Their 2016 release is their first number one album, no mean feat for the band’s eighth LP. Perth rock titans Karnivool will also be in attendance after just selling out most of their own national headline dates in a matter of hours. Deftones will grace the Hordern Pavilion stage on Saturday November 12.

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: James Di Fabrizio SUB-EDITOR: Sam Caldwell STAFF WRITERS: Joseph Earp, Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: Rochelle Bevis, James Di Fabrizio, Amy Henderson, Abbey Lew-Kee, Augustus Welby ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant COVER PHOTO: David Jackson PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, D.A. Carter ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com Tony Pecotic - (02) 9212 4322 tony@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600

KNOT SLIPPING YET

Alright, you can quit your moaning about the demise of Soundwave, because big metal tours are by no means a thing of the past. This October, Slipknot will be back with some mammoth shows. The best thing to come out of Iowa since Kevin Costner turned his farm into a baseball field, nine-piece contemporary metal bigwigs Slipknot are taking over Qudos Bank Arena (formerly Allphones Arena) on Saturday October 29. By the time of their visit, it’ll be two years since the Knot dropped their fifth LP, .5: The Gray Chapter. Giving the finger to those who assumed their time was done, .5 reached number one in Australia and the US. So flippin’ heck, it’s about time they returned.

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties)

EBONY AND IVORY

AWESOME INTERNS: Elias Kwiet, Zanda Wilson, Keiren Jolly, Amy Henderson REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Tom Clift, Anita Connors, James Di Fabrizio, Christie Eliezer, Emily Gibb, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Tegan Reeves, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Jade Smith, Lucy Watson, Rod Whitfield, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Furst Media P/L ACN 1112480045 All content copyrighted to Cartrage P/L / Furst Media P/L 2003-2014 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get the BRAG? Email distribution@ furstmedia.com.au or phone 03 9428 3600 PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 follow us:

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4 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

Pierce The Veil

US swamp metal trio Black Tusk have spent years filling the stages of their home country with sludge, and now they’ve at last locked in their inaugural Australian tour. Formed in 2005, Black Tusk are the union of members from Savannah, Georgia’s crust punk and street punk scenes. When the trio set out to make something heavier and dirtier, Black Tusk were born. Their five LPs are a melding of pounding drums, agitated guitars, thunderous bass and howling, evil-spirited vocals. The band’s latest LP, this year’s Pillars Of Ash, is a memorial to former bassist Jonathan Athon, who was sadly killed in a motorcycle accident in 2014. It’s also just as nasty as their earlier work, described by Consequence Of Sound as “a punked-up Mastodon, or even Motörhead stalking through the murk of the

MISADVENTURES DOWN UNDER

Dark and reckless San Diego hard rockers Pierce The Veil are bringing their new LP Misadventures to Australia this August. It’s been a long wait – too long for some – but last week the four-piece finally delivered its follow-up to 2012’s Collide With The Sky. The title, Misadventures, is supposedly representative of the long and unpredictable experience that led to the album’s creation. Not willing to follow Collide With The Sky with something half-cooked, the band ended up on a soul-searching endeavour that’s now been turned into a metalcore mission statement. Joining them for the run of dates around Oz are Canadian post-hardcore act Silverstein, plus rising heavy comrades Beartooth and Storm The Sky. Catch ’em all at Luna Park’s Big Top Sydney on Wednesday August 17.

DEMPSEY’S GOING LOOPY

Something For Kate frontman Paul Dempsey has just released his second solo LP, and now he’s revealed a national tour. It’s been seven years since Dempsey’s first solo album, Everything Is True. After returning to Something For Kate for one record, and dropping an LP of acoustic cover versions, he’s now reclaimed complete control and constructed his new album Strange Loop. Recorded late last year with Wilco producer Tom Schick in Chicago, Strange Loop uses the folk-rock stylings of Everything Is True as a point of departure, taking in alt-country epics, fuelguzzling belters and Replacements-like barroom confessionals. See Dempsey launch his new record at the Metro Theatre on Friday August 19 with support from Olympia.

RUDE BOYS RETURN

To celebrate 40 years on stages all over the globe, British ska group Bad Manners will return to Sydney for two shows. Forming in North London in the late ’70s, the boys spent the first half of the ’80s topping the UK charts with classics such as ‘Lip Up Fatty’, ‘My Girl Lollipop’ and ‘Special Brew’. Bad Manners will play Friday October 28 at the Factory Theatre and Saturday October 29 at The Basement.

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard

NONAGON GIZZWIZARDRY

The prolific King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard have just released their fourth record in 18 months, and now they’re set to celebrate with a roaring launch show. Their latest release, Nonagon Infi nity, arrives as an acclaimed collection of nine songs, and also as the world’s first infinitely looping LP where each track seamlessly flows into the next, with the final song linking straight back into the top of the opener. Catch them Friday August 5 at the Metro Theatre.

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BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16 :: 5

live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Rochelle Bevis, Abbey Lew-Kee and Amy Henderson

songwriters’ secrets WITH

DAVE LARKIN FROM DALLAS CRANE

I wrote. I say that because we farted around with the glorious outro section for ages trying to get the length right, and funnily enough it’s probably my favourite from the record, but maybe I’ve just talked myself into that as well. I don’t know. Songwriting Secrets 3. No real secrets unfortunately, other than if you’re

John Lennon and Buddy Holly. I was a massive fan of both as a kid, especially John Lennon, and it was kind of like a cheesy ode. The chords were solid but the lyrics could have maybe done with another draft!

spending hours trying to finish something, it’s probably not that good! It’s a great habit to put the initial idea down straight away, be it on an iPhone dictaphone, or whatever you use to get the raw idea down, and try and nail as much as you can on the spot. Even if it’s just the basic structure and vibe, you can go a long way to not have to come back to a vibe or an idea that’s not there

The Last Song I Released Technically ‘Billie’s Gonna Die Young’ from our new album Scoundrels was the last song

The Song That Changed 5. My Life I think ‘Lucy In The Sky With

The Song That Makes Me 4. Proud Impossible to answer, because

Diamonds’ was one of the first Beatles songs I ever heard, and it was probably the one from a really young age that really shifted the poles for me. I was probably about ten at the time and it came on the radio in Dad’s car. He was trying to talk to me but I was just transfixed with this song. Every turn was better than the last. It just dragged me by the scruff and gave me the whole tour of the Beatles garden in one hit. I love them. Their music puts the sun back in the window every time.

I’m always proud just to finish the damn things! I guess ‘Sold Me’ off our Twenty Four Seven album was a good moment because it really was just the one that came the most purely. I felt at the time it was the best song I’d ever written. Two rotating chords, a simple melody and lyrics that all came in about ten minutes makes for luxurious conditions! I remember turning the lights off in the rehearsal room and making the guys ‘feel’ their way through it for the dynamic shifts. They probably thought I was a knob, but it was a good experiment and not something we’ve tried since.

KISS ROCKS VEGAS

KISS Rocks Vegas, a concert film directed by Devin DeHaven and produced by KISS bassist Tommy Thayer, takes the monumental band to the cinema in an intimate deliverance of their 40th anniversary Las Vegas shows. The film will screen simultaneously worldwide as a special one-night-only event on Wednesday May 25, and will immortalise the band’s signature blood-spitting, flame-throwing spectacle with bonus cinema-only interviews of the band and production team. We have four double passes to give away, valid for any Event Cinemas location that is showing the film around Sydney (George Street, Castle Hill, Campbelltown, Tuggerah, Miranda, Shellharbour, Liverpool and Parramatta). Enter the draw at thebrag.com/freeshit.

The First Song I Wrote 1. [Laughs] It was a song called ‘Lenolly’ – you know, like

anymore. Every sunset looks different the next day.

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

What: Scoundrels out now through Rocket Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Sunday May 22 xx

THICK AS THIEVES Models

Ngaiire

With her new album Thieves due this July, the Melbourne-based Tracy McNeil is hitting the road late next month, backed by her band The GoodLife. We’ve already been wooed by the single ‘Paradise’, and McNeil is now eager to present her fourth LP, which lands on Friday July 1 courtesy of SlipRail Records/MGM. The new album was co-produced with Shane O’Mara, who has helped generate an authentic freewheelin’ alt-country sound. See Tracy McNeil and The GoodLife at the Union Hotel on Thursday June 30.

BIGSOUND FIRST LINEUP

A NIGHT OUT WITH NGAIIRE RETRO ICONS UNITE

As part of Vivid Sydney 2016, three pioneering acts from the 1980s Australian alternative scene will join forces for a special show at the Enmore Theatre. Post-punk/new wave trailblazers Models, synthpop legends Machinations and The Reels founding member Dave Mason will line up for a trip through time this month. Their live sets will be a reminder of a fine time in Aussie music, when the ‘out’ was ‘in’ and the ‘in’ was ‘out’. Models, Machinations and Mason take over the Enmore on Sunday May 29.

ALL ABOARD THE SHIP TO NOWHERE

Melbourne’s Greenthief have released their new single, and are backing it up by taking their psychedelic rock onto the road. Their latest track ‘Ship To Nowhere’ is the first single

taken from the group’s second album, Tremors. It comes in the wake of a rigorous touring schedule for Greenthief, who have previously made their way across Europe and stepped out on a 24-date run with The Butterfly Effect. Catch them at Frankie’s Pizza on Sunday July 31.

To celebrate the impending release of her second album Blastoma, Ngaiire has locked in a Sydney show and shared another track with the spellbinding ‘I Can’t Hear God Anymore’. Fresh off the Groovin The Moo tour, Ngaiire’s unique brand of soul has seen ‘Diggin’, the second single from the upcoming album, receiving regular airplay. Ngaiire will be joined live by Melbourne producer and multi-instrumentalist Lanks, who has just come off his own headlining tour. Ngaiire will play Oxford Art Factory on Friday July 8.

The Southern Hemisphere’s premiere music industry event, Bigsound, will celebrate its 15th year in 2016, and it has announced a massive lineup of speakers and talent to celebrate the milestone. Over three massive days in September, Bigsound 2016 will see more than 150 new talents perform for the music industry in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley from Wednesday September 7 – Friday September 9. The headline keynote speaker is none other than Unifi ed’s Jaddan Comerford, who has helped steer the career of acts like Vance Joy and was 2015’s runner-up for Music Business Worldwide’s Young Executive of The Year. Also on the cards to appear are Jim Pitt, music segment producer for Conan; Aussie hip hop royals A.B. Original (Briggs and Trials, who will appear in an interview with Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall); as well as some of the globe’s most respected A&R executives. With this just being the first round of festival announcements, Bigsound 2016 is set to be a huge event.

Sweet Jean Stonefield

Stonefield continue to go from strength to strength, celebrating the release of their second album with a one-night-only Sydney show. The four sisters will head to Sydney to perform an intimate date for their fans on the eastern seaboard. Stonefield have so far seen success with their retro-inspired tracks ‘Through The Clover’ and ‘Foreign Lover’, and more recently with their latest single ‘Stranger’. As Above, So Below (out Friday July 15) is Stonefield’s follow-up to their 2013 self-titled debut, arriving as a ten-track mission statement for the Findlays’ newly refined sound. Stonefield will play Newtown Social Club on Friday July 8.

6 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

FIVE DAYS A WEEK

They’ve just unveiled their second LP, Monday To Friday, and now Melbourne’s Sweet Jean will be hitting the road this July. Sweet Jean is the project of Sime Nugent and Alice Keath, and the pair’s latest full-length encompasses vintage synths and jangly pieces of nostalgia. Lyrically, they touch on everything from interstellar travel to everyday hurdle-hopping. It follows their debut, Dear Departure, which gained all sorts of accolades upon release in 2013, including Album of the Week at PBS FM, Radio National and Dig, Album of the Month at Rhythms Magazine and a nomination in The Age Music Victoria Awards. Get your taste of Sweet Jean on Thursday August 4 at Brighton Up Bar.

thebrag.com

Stonefi eld photo by Sally Patti

STONEFIELD RETURN

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR • When Iron Maiden were in Adelaide, why did they give local guy Steve Radeski the VIP treatment and later present him with a Maiden T-shirt? Because two years ago, when he was in a motorbike accident that severed his right leg, he was tended to by Bill Gaythwaite, a passer-by and Afghanistan veteran who whipped off his beloved 1985 Maiden shirt to stem the blood flow. Maiden gave Radeski the new shirt to pass on to Gaythwaite. • Which music exec, seeing a psychiatrist to work out why she’s not been able to concentrate, was heading to a session with the shrink when she went through a red light and totalled her car? • Did Sharon Osbourne hire a private investigator to tail Ozzy to discover he was having affairs? • Why did Black Eyes Peas’ first show in ten years before 10,000 fans in London not feature Fergie? And why was Will.i.am

STUDY: LOCKOUTS CAUSED 31% FALL IN DARLINGHURST TURNOVER Sydney’s lockout laws caused a 31% drop in annual turnover in less than three years for bars, pubs and clubs in Darlinghurst. The study by local business group Darlinghurst Business Partnership surveyed 200 businesses and employees, with its methodology developed in consultation with the New South Wales Treasury. Between 2013 and 2015, average profits fell from $2.29 million for bars, pubs and clubs to $1.58m, equating to a loss of $710,667 per business. There’s been a 30.2% fall in full-time jobs and 42.9% drop in part-time staff, as well as an 18% reduction in employee hours in all businesses in the area. Only 50% of businesses surveyed expected to be still operating in the next 12 months. See the full results at dbp.org.au/lockout-survey-results.

repeatedly downplaying her role in the band during the show? • Police and Bellingen Shire Council are on the trail of an unauthorised rave to be held in the region in coming weeks. They are asking punters not to buy tickets, and claim these events end in injury, assault and property damage. Council is already chasing promoters of one held in Urunga, intending to file charges. • A new TV show that we might see on our screens next year is Greatest Hits, which debuts next month in America. Hosted by Arsenio Hall and country singer Kelsea Ballerini of Nashville fame (which has just been cancelled after four seasons) – who made her impressive debut in Australia this year – the show sees hits from the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s performed by the original acts and current hitmakers, with one-off pairings. • On the eve of the launch of her Tronc tape and a three-month European tour, some swine broke into Evelyn Morris from Pikelet’s locked car and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of her musical set-up.

• Perth band Stillwater Giants’ video shoot on bassist Kyle Lockye’s boat ended with a visit from the water cops, who fined them as the whole thing was unlicensed. • Brian Johnson has taken up the offer from in-ear monitor inventor and AC/DC fan Stephen Ambrose, who was so aghast at the idea of Axl Rose fronting the band (although the European shows did indicate Rose cut the mustard) that he offered his latest technology to get Johnson back onstage pronto. • Australian metal fan and PR guy Chris Maric of Maric Media is heading to the UK to take part in the Heavy Metal Truants IV charity ride. From Wednesday June 8 – Friday June 10, he’ll ride 265kms from London to Download Festival to raise $2,500 for children’s charities. Donate at justgiving.com/fundraising/chrismaric. The ride is the brainchild of Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood and Metal Hammer editor Alexander Milas. Last year it raised a total of $142,000.

HILLTOPS INITIATIVE CHOOSES ASTRO TRAVELLERS

This year’s recipients of the 11th Hilltop Hoods Initiative are Brisbane hip hop seven-piece Astro Travellers. They recently won Best Urban Song at the Queensland Music Awards for their track ‘Move Actively’ while their single ‘Future Supernova’ was added to Double J’s playlist. The Astros get a $10,000 grant from Hilltop Hoods and APRA AMCOS, which they will use to master, manufacture and promote their debut album. Their prize also includes legal advice from Media Arts Lawyers and a Love Police ATM merchandise startup kit. “It means a lot for Astro Travellers to be recognised by those who have done so much for hip hop in this country,” said band member Rohan Seekers. Past winners include Sarah Connor, Jimblah, Chelsea Jane, I Am D and Runforyourlife.

Astro Travellers

Lifelines Sued: Nicki Minaj, by her ex Safaree Samuels, for physical and emotional abuse. “He’s so miserable!” she tweeted. Arrested: Melbourne DJ/promoter Kasey Taylor (Quench, Our House) and club operator Robert Oung at the Melbourne airport last month. Fairfax Media says they’re accused of swallowing a kilo of ketamine to sneak through customs, and face court in August. They got taken to hospital so the K passed out naturally. In Court: Scott Bennett, Brian Wilson’s keyboardist and co-producer, was convicted of raping a 21-year-old woman at the Hard Rock Café Tulsa in 2014, and awaits sentencing on Tuesday June 14. Died: award-winning Australian jazz singer June Smith, 85. Arriving from Scotland with her music partner and husband Lew, they became an integral part of the Perth jazz scene, including founding the Perth Jazz Club. Died: electronic music pioneer Isao Tomita, 84, of a heart attack. He was the first Japanese musician to use the Moog synth and write music for it. Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder were fans. He was nominated for a Grammy seven times and wrote acclaimed TV and film soundtracks.

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NEW SIGNINGS #1: HOPELESS/UNFD & SUM 41

US band Sum 41 have celebrated their 25th anniversary with their first album in five years, written and produced by singer/rhythm guitarist Deryck Whibley. They’ve signed to LA’s Hopeless Records – home of New Found Glory, The Used, Neck Deep and All Time Low – released here by UNFD. The band averages 300 shows per year, and this summer will play across the US on the Warped Tour.

NEW SIGNINGS #2: GOLDEN ROBOT & THE LOCKHEARTS Aussie indie Golden Robot Records has added Sydney band The Lockhearts to its roster. They start recording their debut album, which they dub “Americana doom fuzz”, in July, with singer Tim Meaco commenting: “Never trust anyone who doesn’t like Tom Petty.” The band has been on the up escalator following a wellacclaimed double EP Tales From The Sea and 30-date national tour.

NEW SIGNINGS #3: RAZOR & POLYDOR FRANCE

But not everyone is losing because of the lockout laws. Real estate agents told Fairfax Media that Kings Cross has become a residential hotspot as a result, with some apartments selling for well over the reserve price. A two-bedroom apartment saw five bidders upping their bids by $50,000 at a time, to a final $1.63m.

Injured: an Eagles Of Death Metal fan had his ear bitten off at the band’s show at Toronto’s Opera House during a fight.

Competition, aimed at songwriters to compose a piece in the spirit of Orszaczky’s music, was won by David Sudmalis and Andy Rantzen for the composition ‘The Left Hand Path’. The night finished with a performance of Orszaczky’s work with his partner Tina Harrod, Darren Percival, Dave Symes (Boy & Bear), Hamish Stuart (Don Walker, Ian Moss), James Greening (The Catholics, The Umbrellas) Anthony Kable (Midnight Oil, Michael Bublé), Matt Ottignon (Guy Sebastian, Portishead), Arne Hanna (Max Q, Melt, Whirlyworld), Scott Leishman (Tim Finn, Marcia Hines), Stu Hunter (Passenger, Katie Noonan) and Clayton Doley (Jimmy Barnes, Kasey Chambers, Renee Geyer). The lecture returns in 2017.

Last Thursday, when the State Parliament finally debated the lockout laws, the Greens’ Jenny Leong and Jamie Parker and independent Alex Greenwich presented the 10,000+ signatures on the Keep Sydney Open physical petition (a further online petition drew 36,000). Some of the MPs, including ALP member for Maroubra Michael Daley, admitted that the laws had been rushed through and “the lack of consultation has led to the concerns”. Leong and Greenwich stressed the importance of penalising troublemakers rather than venues, and Leong demanded, “Why oh why are the casinos exempt? Perhaps Casino Mike has the answers to that one.” The Legislative Assembly public gallery, which included Paul Mac and The Presets, broke into such loud clapping it was politely asked to hush. Greenwich cited Live Music Office data from February about how live music venues have lost 40 per cent in ticket sales post-lockout laws. Meanwhile, Canberra has also been mobilising. The ACT has no plans for lockouts, but it’s mooted higher licence fees for venues that open until 4am (up 300%) and 5am (up 500%). A petition drew 6,500 signatures, and the Keep Canberra Open group has stressed such alternatives as late-night transport, closer coordination with police, heavier penalties for violent behaviour and greater power for venues to eject pests. They’ve enlisted local duo Peking Duk to speak out, telling ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, “You’ve gone too far”, and stressing the importance of Canberra’s venues to their career: “We’d still be flipping burgers at Maccas.”

MUSIC WINS IN AUSTRALIA COUNCIL’S $11.2M GRANTS Music acts and organisations were among the 404 projects that won in the Australia Council for the Arts’ February round of $11.2m in grants. Funded were new albums

by Polish Club, Mathas, Funkoars, Plgrms, Caiti Baker, Bombay Royale, Cumbia Cosmonauts, Ali Barter, Katie Noonan, Mojo Juju and Beth Brown. So were international tours and showcases by DZ Deathrays, Elizabeth Rose, Spookyland, Royal Headache, Meg Mac, Banff, Joseph Tawadros, Harvey Sutherland and Bermuda, Gordi, Gang Of Youths, Holy Holy and Jenny Thomas, and national tours from Mathas and The Buried Country Roadshow. Also supported were Music NSW’s Women in Electronic Music symposium and Western Edge Youth Arts in Footscray. Applications are now open for the next grants round at australiacouncil.gov. au, closing Tuesday June 7. Of associations, Sounds Australia got $300,000, although that wasn’t enough to ease up on the music industry’s anger last week over the export body’s loss of Catalyst funding. Sounds Australia thanked everyone for their support and urged people to keep signing the change.org petition, which has notched up 5,000 signatures in a few days. Among others funded were Brisbane’s Bigsound conference ($250,000) and the Electronic Music Conference ($280,000). The 20 music events missing out included the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, and Next Wave.

INAUGURAL JACKIE ORSZACZKY LECTURE SELLS OUT The inaugural Jackie Orszaczky Music Lecture, held at The Basement in conjunction with APRA AMCOS, was a sell-out. The night was a dedication to the late composer and performer’s work, musical ideas and philosophy. The lecture was delivered by his good friend, pedal steel virtuoso and ABC Radio National broadcaster Lucky Oceans. Oceans provided advice to fellow musicians with anecdotes from Orszaczky’s life, his own experiences and quotes from jazz greats. The Jackie Orszaczky Composition

Melbourne DJ and club owner Gavin Campbell’s Razor Recordings has struck a licensing deal with Polydor France. It will launch Melbourne dark electro act Evangeline’s career abroad. Last week it released a remix by LA-based William Black of her second single ‘My Kingdom’, which, with three million streams, came to the attention of Julien Creuzard, head of Capitol and Polydor France. Evangeline, currently demoing her debut album, is managed worldwide by Erin Jameson and Helen O’Malley of Jameson & Co Publicity and Management.

NEW SIGNINGS #4: NICHE & KLLO

Kllo Added to Niche’s artist agency roster are Kllo, made up of Simon Lam and Chloe Kaul. Since 2014, their music has been aired on triple j and BBC Radio 1 and landed them on ‘artists to watch’ listings. This year their ‘Bolide’ single amassed over a million Spotify plays, and is out on Ghostly International (US), PIAS/Different Recordings (UK, EU and Japan) and Good Manners Records (ROW).

NEW SIGNINGS #5: 123 AGENCY & GABRIELLA COHEN 123 Agency’s newest signing, Melbourne’s enigmatic pop performer Gabriella Cohen, will hit the road along the east coast in July. The triple j Unearthed feature act issued her debut album Full Closure And No Details in March.

JAZZ BELL AWARDS SHORTLIST The 14th Australian Jazz Bell Awards on Monday June 20 in Melbourne have announced the shortlisted artists across seven categories based on performance, creativity and presentation. Names include Vince Jones & Paul Grabowsky, Kristin Berardi, Barney McAll, Julien Wilson Quartet, Olivia Chindamo, Mike Nock, Allan Browne Quintet, Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra and Niran Dasika.

BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16 :: 7

ome call them the pride of Los Angeles. Others view them as a categorical disgrace to music. But irrespective of the labels projected onto them, Steel Panther sure know how to have a good time. The glamorous and good-humoured parody metal outfi t is heading back to Australia next month, following a stint on last year’s Soundwave tour. It’ll officially be wintertime when Steel Panther return, but that’s no bother – it’s not the weather that lures them back, as bass player Lexxi Foxx explains. “We were all talking when we were rehearsing for the tour about how many beautiful women are in Australia,” he says. “I cannot believe how lucky you guys are. It was so fun to do Soundwave over there and see everybody. Going to the beach there in Sydney and seeing all of the beautiful women there – it’s just a fun place to be, so we’re all looking forward to it.”

“We’ve done more than just talk,” he says. “We went all the way ‘down under’, if you know what I’m talking about. I’ve had some fun little relationships over there, from Perth all the way to Sydney. I’ve

THE

GIANTS

GL AM

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY been fortunate enough to have many after-hour parties at my hotel room. So I’ve gotten to know [Australians] quite well.” Steel Panther’s apparent sexcrazed lifestyles are essentially the nucleus of the band’s existence, characterising their songs, live shows, and evidently their interviews. The group formed in 2000 and has since released four studio LPs (including one under their original name Metal Shop). But while the band’s four members mightn’t be as young as they used to be, their libidos haven’t diminished with age. “I suggest this for everybody – take a bunch of drugs and then take boner pills,” Foxx says. “Yes, we are getting very old. I’m very old. I don’t know how long I’ll be doing this, but as long as I keep pumping drugs into my system and using those damn boner pills … those things work like crazy. I’m knocking over pictures and everything in the hotel room. Those things are a blast. So thank God for technology. I just got my Botox done and my eyebrows done. Technology keeps me going. We’re all old men, but drugs are good. Drugs are very good.” Foxx and his bandmates are happy to embrace technology in

order to sustain their glam rock image, but when it comes to album releases and promotional methods, they stick to what they know. In February they released the live album and accompanying fi lm, Live From Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage. While online hype machines and surprise album releases have started to dominate the mainstream music sphere, Steel Panther prefer a grassroots approach. “Surprise records? That’s a bunch of crap,” Foxx says. “You should be able to just promote like back in the day. Back in the ’80s, back in the ’70s, you did your promotional tours, like we did for Live From Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage. We went all the way to the UK and to New York and we had one here in Los Angeles. Technology’s changing so much. Open record stores back up. Record labels should just come back and just do it all ’80s-style again. “All this technology and social media shit, it’s way over my head. We’re all old, so we like it oldschool. I have a Twitter account, but I barely even go on that. I’ll check it every once in a while, but I don’t have a Facebook page or anything like that. I don’t have Instagram. The band will do things like that, but I’m not a very social

media guy. I’ve never been into things like that. I wish I still had a rotary phone. I couldn’t even work this damn smartphone. Of course, I’m not too smart myself, so that’s why I still live with my mom.” Live From Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage was indeed recorded and fi lmed at Foxx’s mother’s house. It’s been two years since the band’s last studio release, All You Can Eat, and the release of an acoustic live album could be a clue for what’s coming next. However, Foxx clarifi es that Steel Panther are not abandoning their hard rock sound. “We did that just to get close to those chicks that are in the DVD. That’s the only reason we did that. It was my idea we’d all get together in my mom’s garage and invite lots of chicks … Acoustic guitars make girls very, very, very horny. Now we’re going to leave that alone for a while and we’re on our way to making another bitching rock record. Hopefully we can get it out by the beginning of next year.” Steel Panther are commonly described as a comedy band. It’s true that their salacious lyrics and eccentric cock rock arrangements provide plenty of support for this perception, but there’s also a fair amount of darkness strewn throughout their catalogue. For

“THANK GOD FOR TECHNOLOGY. I JUST GOT MY BOTOX DONE AND MY EYEBROWS DONE. TECHNOLOGY KEEPS ME GOING. WE’RE ALL OLD MEN, BUT DRUGS ARE GOOD.” 8 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

one, it doesn’t always sound so glamorous to be insatiably sexobsessed. And then there’s a song like All You Can Eat’s ‘The Burden Of Being Wonderful’, which speaks of how lonely it is to exist at a superior level, to be “a Maserati in a world of Kias”. As Foxx sees it, they’re just conveying their own truth and trying to enjoy themselves as much as possible while they still can. “Why I love being in this band so much is because, first of all, we all look bitching in spandex even though we’re really old. The other thing is we do something different, because we don’t give a shit. All the bands that are out there are trying to be so cool and want to get on the radio and they don’t want to offend anyone. Fuck that. If we like writing about sex, drugs, rock’n’roll and just having a good time, and if we happen to offend somebody, then we just do. There’s nothing we can do. If some people fi nd some lyrics to be funny, that’s fi ne too. “A lot of people in Australia really do understand us and get us and that’s why we do so well over there. The UK as well. But there’s some people who just don’t and that’s totally fi ne, but we’re still going to keep writing the way that we’ve been. A lot of people think we’re just a one-legged pony or that this is going to be a fl ash in the pan. But we’re going to be here until one of us either dies or just can’t walk anymore.” What: Live From Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage out now through Kobalt Where: Big Top Sydney, Luna Park When: Friday June 17 thebrag.com

Steel Panther photo by David Jackson

Steel Panther are notorious for their promiscuity, or at least for brazenly divulging the juicy details of their inordinate sex lives. Even Foxx, the band’s gentlest and most sensitive character, has no inhibitions when it comes to romance on the road.

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Baby Animals Animal Instincts By Joseph Earp biggest record,” she says. “It was a daily process. We worked pretty hard on it. It’s there forever. We wanted it to be the best it [could] possibly be.” That’s not to suggest DeMarchi has ever reflected much upon the album, or considered it to be anything more than one step taken upon a very long road. “It is what it is. [I] just sort of moved on from it,” she says. “We did another record after it, then I went and had kids. But Baby Animals [has] been the gift that keeps on giving in a lot of ways.” Certainly there is still enough interest in the album to warrant a 25-year anniversary gig, and an epic two-part one at that. The upcoming Baby Animals show won’t just be a cursory tip of the hat to the record – it will be a full-blown celebration, a night packed with guests, nostalgia and an ample dose of the fierce live energy the band has been bringing to stages for so many years.

early three decades ago, a young Suze DeMarchi found herself in a foreign country, working alongside a producer who made it his personal mission to push her to the very edge. “Recording Baby Animals [in New York] with Mike Chapman was…” She stops. Tries again. “When you’re young and you’re starting out, [recording] can be nerve-racking. We were just in a big studio, with a big producer, in a big city, with a big frickin’ budget. “[Chapman] was a bit of commander,” DeMarchi says with a laugh that fails to disguise the slight hardness in her voice – not even

25 years’ worth of space can undo certain indignities, it seems. “He didn’t really let you get away with anything. If something wasn’t good enough, you did it till it was right. It was frustrating. It was hard.” She pauses once more. When she resumes the story, her voice is softer, as though the older, wiser DeMarchi has taken over. “I think that was part of his tactic to get the best performance. It was just to irritate you. To get you to the point where you just sort of got loose and then you’d get really mad and then you’d do a great performance … You just had to focus on why you’re there and

the songs and the performances. In between drinks, that is,” she laughs. Whether or not it was down to Chapman’s unconventional measures, something about the recording process definitely worked. Baby Animals was a massive commercial and critical success, and its delightfully oversaturated pop-rock tunes still inspire respect and devotion to this day. Time has not dulled one second of a song like ‘One Word’, which the then-25-yearold DeMarchi wrote before the band had even been assembled. “I think [Baby Animals] was our

“The first set we’re going to play is going to be with the current lineup,” DeMarchi explains. “Then there’s going to be a small intermission film that’s got a lot of footage of stuff backstage back on tour in America. And then the next step will be the original band playing Baby Animals from beginning to end. Maybe we’ll throw in a couple of tracks we used to play that we haven’t played in a long time.” For DeMarchi, resurrecting the original band was the only way to pay tribute to the record that started it all. “I always thought if we were going to do the first album beginning to end that we should do it with the original lineup. We’re all still alive and we all played on that record, so it just made sense.

“If I was a fan of this band, I would want to see that, I think. It’s always tricky, ’cause we haven’t played with those guys for a long time and I didn’t know if they wanted to do it. But I just think you’ve gotta go for it with things like that.” Though the idea of playing a series of shows with people you haven’t seen in many years would terrify most, DeMarchi relishes the opportunity. For her, it’s like being able to play with two totally different bands on the one night – to experience the one discography through radically altered lenses. “Personalities are what make a band,” she says. “We were a different band in those days because of the personalities. This current lineup has been longer than the first lineup was together. So it functions differently. Plus we’re older,” she says with a wry laugh. “It’s a whole different operation now. We’re not really on tour all the time like we used to be. We’ve got kids.” For DeMarchi, time does not go hand in hand with exhaustion. Rust might never sleep, but neither does Suze DeMarchi. “I think I am excited, more than anything,” she says. “It’ll be great – I mean, I’ve been doing this particular band for a really long time. As long as you’re prepared, it’s always really fun to get up and play this stuff. I just love it. It’s always a bit of a party really, any gig.” What: Baby Animals 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition out Friday May 20 through Liberation Where: Enmore Theatre When: Saturday May 28 xxx

Dan Kelly & Alex Gow Split Personalities By Augustus Welby striking. Did you do that teenage [thing], spend thousands of hours in a dark room learning Metallica songs? Or did you feel like it was more of a gradual process? DK: I got into guitar when I was about 13. I played piano for a year but I was not very good at it, apparently too emotional. I had about four years from 12 to 16 where I lived in the country. I had some friends but not a lot, certainly girls weren’t talking to me, and I wanted to make the top two cricket teams but couldn’t. So that left me a huge amount of time to play guitar. And I would just play along to stuff that I thought was cool at the time, which some of it has ended up being cool and some of it isn’t. AG: Give us one example of the cool and another example of the not-so-cool.

Dan Kelly: Do you think the rise of electronic music, or EDM, has got anything to do with that people are just too embarrassed to walk around town with a guitar case? 10 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

Alex Gow: The other day I had to walk around with both yours and mine. I felt double embarrassed. Listen, I’m definitely feeling like it’s time to make the move into EDM. DK: Do you think a guitar case on the back, like a soft case, is cooler or less cool than the classic hard case? AG: I think it’s a bit cooler, because it implies that you’re on your way to get a guitar lesson. And I can forgive someone for practising the guitar, but it’s hard to forgive someone trying to make a career out of it. Also, if you put it on your back you could stitch together a surfboard case to hide it. People could think you’re a really carefree surfer instead of a self-obsessed, whining muso. DK: That’s not a bad idea. AG: Dan, your ability to play the guitar is

DK: That Rain Man thing, do you reckon that affects the way you write songs? AG: Even though it pains me to broadcast self-introspection, I feel like I’m split down the middle between a creative person and then the Rain Man guy. I’ve been called Rain Man independently by three ex-girlfriends. I think the Spock thing helps me with my ambition and the way I set myself goals. I consider myself pretty lucky with my blend of these two opposing personalities. I can switch in and out of them, and it often depends on how many lattes I’ve had.

DK: I learnt by playing along to a lot of my dad’s old blues record – a lot of Howlin’ Wolf, playing along to harmonica solos, Hubert Sumlin, guys like that. And also I learnt a lot of Steve Connolly riffs, from The Coloured Girls, and stuff off the radio. I remember learning ‘Thorn In My Side’ by the Eurythmics. I don’t know if that’s cool anymore. Also the guitar solo from ‘Everytime You Go Away’ [Paul Young].

DK: I have no Spock. I’m more like Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

AG: I’m a landscaper for money and whenever we go to the irrigation shop I sing that one, but it’s, “Everytime you go away / You take some PVC”. Or if you’re a butcher it’d be, “You take a piece of meat”.

AG: Yeah, the tour’s off.

DK: I think of that often. When I was working on the last record in East London there was a halal butcher called Halal, Is It Meat You’re Looking For? Are you a good driver? This is something that concerns me. AG: I’m really good at driving. I wouldn’t say that about many things, but I’ve never had an accident and I’m not even going to knock on wood. I think it comes from this Rain Man/

AG: I did a Q&A for this tour and someone said, “It’s the Australian Dreamers Tour, but do you consider yourself more of a dreamer or more of a realist?” And I thought to myself, “I’d definitely never accuse myself of being a dreamer.” I think that’s your flag to fly. DK: Has that fucked the whole tour now?

DK: One thing I think about this tour, it is quite yin and yang, or ying and yang – depends on what part of Tibet you’re from, I think. AG: What do James Bond and the Dalai Lama have in common? DK: What? AG: They both love Ti-bet.

xxxr photo by xxx

uitars no longer dominate the popular music landscape the way they once did. They don’t rule experimental music or political music either, and the world is better for it – the ongoing diversification of music has given us much entertainment and critical stimulus. But guitars are still at the root of plenty of captivating songs, uniting rooms full of people all over the world, every night of the year. Dan Kelly and Oh Mercy’s Alex Gow have remained faithful to their instrument of choice, and it will be evident during the pair’s co-headline tour beginning later this month. Ahead of their run around the country, the BRAG brings the two celebrated songwriters together to ask each other some questions.

Spock in me, which is just pretty calm, pretty vigilant. I’ve got great peripheral vision and I’m not in a rush to get anywhere. I’ve just got a really good record, so you’re safe in my hands Dan.

With: Emma Russack Where: Petersham Bowling Club When: Friday May 20

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Paul Dempsey Captain Of The Ship By Augustus Welby

trange Loop is the name of Paul Dempsey’s new solo album, the follow-up to 2009’s Everything Is True. After a five-album run with Something For Kate, Everything Is True served as something of a palate-cleanser. It was Dempsey’s first solo record, revealing a more folk rock side of his songwriting, which then cast the Something For Kate material in a different light. Strange Loop is stylistically a broader release than Dempsey’s debut, ranging from the alt-country sprawl of ‘The True Sea’ to the fuming energy of ‘Morningless’. But the origin story of both records is much the same – namely, Dempsey felt a strong urge to depart from the band format and take complete control. “I love working with the band, and I love the way we work – it’s a definite collaboration, there’s a lot of creative tug-of-war,” he says. “But it’s certainly nice to then go do something else that’s not a tug-of-war and that is completely self-indulgent, and I’m the boss of everything and get to have everything just the way I want it. It’s good to do both – I feel really lucky that I get to do both.” While you might catch Dempsey touring his solo material with a band, Strange Loop and Everything Is True are solo records in the truest sense – Dempsey plays all the instruments and makes sure every drum beat and guitar note turns out just how intended. That said, at a root level, his songwriting practice remains much the same. “I’m always just writing songs, and it just depends. For instance, I know that the next thing that I do is going to be a Something For Kate record. So anything I may write from this

day forward, I’ll bring it to rehearsal and hash it out with Clint [Hyndman] and Steph [Ashworth]. Whereas for the past two years I’ve known that whatever I was working on was going towards my solo record.” Strange Loop was conceived alone, but the finished product was recorded with producer Tom Schick at The Loft studios in Chicago. Schick’s CV includes albums for Wilco, Ryan Adams, She & Him and Glen Hansard, which encouraged Dempsey to seek him out. “My demos are pretty much what you hear on the record,” Dempsey says. “My demos are very fleshed out and all the arrangements, all the instrumentation, everything’s pretty much there. But I don’t trust myself to engineer and mix it and be able to be completely objective about it. Because I am playing everything on it, I feel like I need to at least have some devil’s advocate, someone being an unbiased third party. And then I also want to be in the hands of someone whose ears I trust. Having heard so many records that Tom’s engineered and mixed, I love the way they sound, I love the way he records drums and the way he records guitars and the way his mixes gel together.”

“They all employ different techniques and they all favour different sort of gear, but [are] also just different people. We’re a band that when we go in the studio, we know what we’re going to do. We’re not really looking for someone to pull our songs apart or make changes to our songs. For us it’s really more about finding someone whose ears we trust and who we think is going to record and mix us in a way that we’re going to like. But we also like to keep working with different people. Some bands find someone who is just their guy, who just gets what they want and that person almost becomes a member of the band. But for us, we like to keep on seeing how different producers will capture us.”

Something For Kate’s latest record, 2012’s Leave Your Soul To Science, was recorded with John Congleton (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen), while they’ve previously worked with Trina Shoemaker (Midnight Oil, Queens of the Stone Age), and Dempsey recorded Everything Is True with Wayne Connolly (You Am I, The Vines). Dempsey has valued each producer’s unique approach, which in turn keeps him interested in finding new producers to collaborate with.

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Given his extensive experience with producers of different persuasions, Dempsey has come to recognise a producer’s greatest asset. “Before you even hit ‘record’, I think the most important thing a producer can do is just get the band excited about what they’re doing and make everyone feel enthused about what you’re doing and what the possibilities are.” On the subject of feeling excited, making a solo record is an effective tool in replenishing Dempsey’s enthusiasm for playing in Something For Kate, and vice versa. “I’m really happy just doing lots of different things. I definitely am not at risk of getting bored. I feel like I have

a few different careers going on. I have Something For Kate, I have my solo acoustic stuff or my solo stuff where I can take a band with me, and my band lineup can change. I also produce records with other bands, I do stuff with The Black Arm Band – I feel like I’m constantly doing something in the music realm but at any given week it could be a different thing. I really enjoy that. I feel really lucky to just have these different sources of stimulation. Everything keeps everything else interesting.” What: Strange Loop out now through EMI/Universal Where: Metro Theatre When: Friday August 19

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Poliça Sadness And Joy By Adam Norris the weekend it took to come up with the name. “Ultimately, for me the title isn’t the meaning. Any band you could think of, when I hear the title I don’t think what that name might mean.” It’s true, and after all, band names do come with an intrinsic marketability that has little to do with the music (with the exception of something like 5 Seconds Of Summer, which means very little and sounds worse). But this is clearly something on Bierden’s mind as he elaborates. “The interesting thing about the name of this band is that it has the word ‘police’ embedded in it, but it wasn’t until this third record that there was any kind of slant to talking about police power. So it’s kind of a weird intersection where I feel like the name has transformed a little bit with the material we’ve since generated. We’re definitely coming at it from a different direction than the previous two records. Hopefully you grow as a human as you grow as a musician.”

oliça proved their worth right out of the gate, with their 2012 debut Give You The Ghost being hailed with praise from NPR and the throngs at SXSW (and also leading to them touring with Bon Iver – “They’re the best band I’ve ever heard,” Justin Vernon said). The Minneapolis synthpoppers’

third album United Crushers is now upon us, yet looking at their recent press there seems to be one question the media just can’t shake: the story behind their name. It seems to miss the point of the music just a little. “I’m actually glad you mention it,

that band name question,” says bassist/backing vocalist Chris Bierden. “It gets asked a lot, and for us it’s the least significant element of the band. To us, we’re always thinking of it in terms of the band members and the music. I don’t ever really think of any previously imbued meaning that it might have had in

It is a fine sentiment, yet to a certain extent, growth sits at the root of a lot of the band’s anxieties. Not about their own creativity or longevity – on that front, Poliça seem more secure than ever. Instead, there’s pessimism about the shape of the coming world, echoed in lead singer Channy Leaneagh’s remarks that the future might not exactly be a rosy place.

the ongoing signifi cance of Björk). Something beneath that midnight sun is fuelling a creative spurt that is as dark as it is captivating, and though Håvik has certainly witnessed its evolution, she is at a loss to explain it.

of jazz artists and a lot of educated musicians [are going] over to doing pop music. It used to be pop was looked down on, it didn’t have any cred. But now there is more quality inside of it, it has found that credibility.”

“There are a few artists now who do really well in the US and the rest of Europe, maybe in Australia, I’m not sure. I feel like maybe Norwegian music is more interesting right now, is becoming more popular for the rest of the world. I think that there’s always been the creativity here, but a lot

To shepherd Camp Echo and lead single ‘Someone Who’ll Get It’ across the seas, Highasakite have already begun touring, and promise to venture to Oz soon. It will not be their first visit, though last time it was in the midst of summer in a land heaving with people searching out sun-

“I certainly don’t want to speak on Channy’s behalf, but we have lots of these conversations in the van,” says Bierden. “It’s defi nitely not something we shy away from in our personal lives. It’s hard to be optimistic. I feel that the forces that are in play right now are potentially looming larger than they ever have. With money and politics or climate change, it does feel like something is culminating, which seems tied to the rapid proliferation of the rise of technology as well. “More information is being disseminated, but what that gets fi ltered through, it’s hard to not feel like it’s all a little bit menacing. A lot of what Channy draws her lyrical inspiration from is kind of processing these things, and you hope that the music itself might be the healing mechanism. In singing about something very dark, I think we’re all hoping to fi nd a more euphoric experience. If you’re processing really complex social issues and ideas, the music itself should kind of be to the left of it all. That’s my favourite thing about music. You can take a really sad song, and in belting it out it can become pure joy.” What: United Crushers out now through Pod/Inertia Where: Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid LIVE 2016 When: Friday June 3

Highasakite xxx

Echoes In The Airways By Adam Norris

ou hear a name like Highasakite, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you were about to delve deep into stoner rock. Forgiven, but also on the distant shores of wrong. Stoner rock they ain’t – these fi ve Norwegians are an indie-pop outfi t, and have been scaling the ladders of popular and critical praise for fi ve years now. Their third album, Camp Echo, is at last upon us, so lead singer Ingrid Helene Håvik takes the time to chat. “The waiting time [before releasing] is so long now, and we have time to write when we’re done with the whole recording thing, and now we’re just sitting and waiting, and I think that’s the worst part,” Håvik says. “Because when we made the music, we didn’t really think of expectations so much, we just wanted to think about the music and create something new. And because [2014 album] Silent Treatment went so well, we can’t expect to do that again. But it would be really nice, of course, if we did! “I just really want to record stuff, and when it’s already recorded and done with, I’m done with those songs and I just want to write something new. But I spend my time with interviews, with music video shoots, meetings and rehearsals. Just a lot of preparing for the album to come out.” I immediately feel like a monster for being exactly one of those diversions, taking Håvik away from a passion she seemingly feels more and more distracted from. Softly spoken, she laughs at my apology and assures that, so far, I seem like one of the nicer media jerks.

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Whatever the interpretation, the shape of Highasakite’s trajectory stands in sharp relief. Their debut, All That Floats Will Rain, began it all in 2012, with strong support bookings and festivals, paving the way for Silent Treatment to reach number one on the Norwegian albums chart and achieve, among countless accolades, the record amount of time for remaining in the top 40 (95 weeks – and counting). Amazingly, I had read that prior to the release of their debut, Highasakite had never performed live – a myth Håvik is swift to slay. “No, that’s not how it was,” she laughs. “We played live a lot, but we didn’t have our two [newest] band members with us at that time. It was just me, Trond [Bersu, drums] and Øystein [Skar, synths]. So we changed then. And I feel like I’m recreating myself with each record, and right now I’m in … the middle creative [period], getting into each song and how to express them onstage. It’s very different from being in the studio, and I’m just feeling my way along up there, still learning how to best sing them live. It’s the same song you hear on the record but there’s an extra dimension live, with movements, with singing that’s a bit more raw. You know, it hasn’t been polished by all the studio stuff. It gets a new expression – you have to show each song with your whole body.” Through what is undoubtedly a very fi ltered Australian lens, it seems that Scandinavian music is becoming increasingly popular across the globe, spearheaded by artists such as Of Monsters And Men and Ásgeir (not to mention

scorched festivals. The climate next time may be a little closer to home. “It was so warm, so nice and beautiful,” says Håvik. “It was amazing to go there in January, fl y in over beautiful water. I mean, the fl ight itself, it was gruesome, just awful. And then getting to Australia, and there were so many people at our show – it was like fi nding a new and better world.” What: Camp Echo out Friday May 20 through Caroline

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xxx photo by xxx

“At the same time, I think it’s very important to remember to keep an eye on what was the [interviewer’s] agenda. And if you reinvent yourself every time you’re going to

talk about a song and fi nd different answers then you might get a bit lost, and you’ll just start saying weird things that aren’t really true in the end. But I also think interpretation is very important, where every lyric in every song can be interpreted in different ways, and to not be too obvious.”

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Szymon In Loving Memory By David James Young just brilliant, and we’d all do a double take. ‘What was that?’ we’d keep asking, and he’d always just play it down the way that he did – ‘Oh, it’s just an idea, it’s nothing.’” Eventually, after graduating from high school, Szymon travelled through Europe by himself. While overseas, he received an expression of interest from EMI about releasing the album he had been working on, which ended up being Tigersapp. Upon returning home, he set to finishing it, although it was ultimately shelved sometime in 2010 after his battles with depression began getting the best of him and he started to isolate himself from both his family and his music. In spite of this, his family – as well as EMI reps Mark Holland and Craig Hawker – never gave up on either Szymon himself or the Tigersapp project, eventually piecing it together some two-and-a-half years after his untimely death.

igersapp, the debut album from Newcastle multiinstrumentalist, singer and songwriter Szymon Borzestowski (best known by his first name, or simply ‘Szym’ by his siblings), was one of the most celebrated releases of 2015. Nominated for a J Award and an ARIA, as well as receiving glowing fi ve-star reviews, his music witnessed a surge of adulation and praise. The only person who wasn’t there to see how much joy Tigersapp brought to listeners’ lives was Borzestowski himself – after a long struggle with mental health and depression, Szymon took his own life at the end of 2012 at the age of 23.

“Music was always such a huge part of our growing up,” says Eva Borzestowski, one of Szymon’s three siblings, who works as a high school drama teacher. “Mum and Dad got me into piano and violin at an early age, and as my brothers started coming through they all began playing as well. Kub [eldest brother Kubush] got into playing guitar, Szym wanted to play the clarinet and Dom [now of Gang Of Youths] just couldn’t stop hitting things, so we knew we had to get him a drum kit. Szym was the one who just kept going and going – he learned clarinet, then saxophone, then bass, then he taught himself how to play guitar and then learned how to sing.”

Szymon’s prodigious abilities behind more or less any kind of instrument thrown his way inevitably led to him composing his own music. He remained incredibly private about it for many years, and only decided to let others in on it after constant encouragement from his siblings. “He did composition for his main focus for his HSC music class,” recalls Eva. “He was always showing us little ideas here and there – I think he even put something up on MySpace. Only a few friends and close friends would have access to his music. He was always secondguessing whether what he was doing was good or not. He’d sit at the piano and run through something that’s

“We tried to keep it as close to the original project as possible,” says Eva. “My brothers knew the songs inside out – I had moved out of home by the time Szym was working on the album, so it was my brothers who ended up making a lot of the executive decisions over the mixing. They knew exactly what Szym wanted the songs to sound like. It was a tough process at times – the guy who was doing the final mixes was this guy over in New York, and so we’d constantly be going back and forth with him trying to get it right. It was amazing what this album did to people. Mark and Craig started their own label just so they could put it out and get people to hear it.” Szymon never performed any songs from Tigersapp live – or indeed, performed live at all beyond playing and singing in church with his family growing up. This July, however, the

surviving Borzestowski siblings – along with a slew of special guests – will perform at Splendour In The Grass under the banner of In Loving Memory Of Szymon. Here, they will perform Tigersapp in its entirety – something the family had considered previously, but had never known how to execute. “It was Evan [Davis] from Splendour who hit us up after he got a hold of the record,” says Eva. “It’s such a privilege to bring this music to such a huge audience, and it’s all happening on account of Evan and Mark just loving this music and pushing us to replicate it in a live way. Kub has a very similar vocal timbre to that of Szym’s, so he’s going to be leading a lot of the vocals and playing the acoustic guitar. There’s so many layers, so it requires a lot of different roles to be dished out – lots of synth and percussion. My husband is in the band as well, who’ll be playing a lot of the guitar parts.” Eva is particularly excited about getting to sing in harmony with her immediate family, adding: “It’s just not something that we get to do all that often. We’ve all played in bands and sung on different things, but when we get together to sing it’s something that’s just so nice. We already know the show is going to be quite special just because of that.” Who: In Loving Memory Of Szymon What: Splendour In The Grass 2016 With: The Strokes, The Cure, Flume, The Avalanches, James Blake and many more Where: North Byron Parklands When: Friday July 22 – Sunday July 24 And: Tigersapp out now through Eloper

Primal Fear No Rules By Peter Hodgson

t’s one of contemporary metal’s best-known stories, but it bears repeating: in the mid-’90s, German vocalist Ralf Scheepers sang in a Judas Priest cover band called Just Priest. He was damn good. So good, in fact, that when Judas Priest were looking for a new vocalist to fill the massive shoes of Rob Halford, Scheepers was high on their list. Eventually the gig went to Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, but Scheepers was so motivated that he formed Primal Fear with two of his Just Priest bandmates, bassist Mat Sinner and guitarist Tom Naumann. Primal Fear signed to Nuclear Blast Records in 1997, cracked the German top 50 with their debut album in February ’98, and are now considered power metal pioneers. With their new LP Rulebreaker just released, Primal Fear are touring Australia for the very first time this June. “It’s always been our dream to come there,” says Scheepers. “We hear so many good things. I mean, it’s after our North American and Asian tour legs and it’s going to be a long road to go.” Since this is the band’s first Australian tour, the setlist might be tweaked a little to please the long-time fans. “We have a setlist that features a mixture of, not every album, but in our opinion our strongest albums,” Scheepers says. “We’ll have five tracks from our new album: ‘In Metal We Trust’, ‘Angels Of Mercy’, ‘The End Is Near’, ‘The Sky Is Burning’ and ‘Rulebreaker’. We try to promote the new album as much as we can. And then we’ve 14 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

picked a ‘best of’ of our albums. It’s going to be a longer setlist and people can really expect highlights of our entire catalogue.” While Scheepers, Sinner and Naumann remain, Primal Fear have been through multiple lineup changes over the years. Rulebreaker fi nds the band at peak fi tness. “We’re fi ve writing members now, and that’s a big advantage, to have so many hands, so many creative people behind it,” Scheepers says. “It’s very democratic. We’ve been doing this for very many years, and if a song is not going to be on this album, why not the next? Sometimes we have 15, 20 songs, which is way too many for an album, but it doesn’t mean the song is bad. Sometimes they’re just lying around for years and you fi nd them again and think, ‘This song is not bad,’ so you bring it back.” Although the official lineup includes three guitarists, Magnus Karlsson won’t be coming to Australia. It’s no surprise, really – he’s one of the most in-demand guitarists in the power metal and progressive metal spheres. His credits include Starbreaker, Midnight Sun, Last Tribe, Planet Alliance, The Codex, Bob Catley and many more. “Magnus has his family, he has three kids, and understandably he can’t always go on tour with us,” Scheepers says. “He’s basically a riff machine. He’s a composing machine. He’s absolutely amazing at what he does.”

So don’t expect an Iron Maidenstyle triple-axe attack on this tour. And Scheepers isn’t planning to strap on a guitar anytime soon. “I play guitar, but not on the albums,” he says. “I’m not a good guitar player but it’s great for composing, which you’ll fi nd on my solo CD. That’s basically what I wrote on my guitar, and Magnus helped.” Ah yes, that solo album. Scheepers, released in 2011, is a great record, although it pretty much just sounds like Primal Fear. “Of course,” says the singer. “I have collected so many songs I couldn’t use for Primal Fear at the end of the year, and it goes back to Gamma Ray [Scheepers’ prePrimal Fear band]. So I thought, together with Mat as a team again, why not release the solo CD? It’s not a one-hit wonder, but it was just a one-time thing. It’s always difficult if you’re breaking pieces

away from a major enterprise to a smaller solo thing.” Scheepers is a vocal teacher in his downtime, passing on the secrets of his powerful, multi-octave metal voice to his students, who study with him either in person or online via Skype. He also lends his skills as a vocal coach in the studio, helping other vocalists to reach their full potential. He stresses the value of getting plenty of rest. “You have to just relax when you’re at home, which is not so easy because I have a boy, I have students to teach – I go to a school to teach lessons – and I’m trying to do all the exercises I teach to my students; vocal relaxing exercises and things like that. But hey, it’s a muscle, and I can feel a difference already as I get older. I’m glad that people don’t hear it, but I have this instrument in my throat and I can

really feel what’s going on and I hope it’s going to be lasting for a while, and I’m confi dent I can still do this for decades. “Singing is totally different to speaking. When I had a cold on tour recently people were asking me, ‘How are you able to sing when you can’t speak?’ It’s a totally different technique. You use a lot of support from the diaphragm and it’s a different technique for breathing. Sometimes I sound horrible in the morning but I belt out the highest note in the evening.” What: Rulebreaker out now through Frontiers With: Hazmat Where: Newtown Social Club When: Sunday June 12

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arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Zanda Wilson, Amy Henderson and Chris Martin

HIStory

five minutes WITH

KEN SAUNDERS, FOUNDER OF SYDNEYVISION SONG CONTEST

The Ruckus

felt that it was long overdue that someplace answered back – Sydney, with its 500 suburbs, we thought had the depth to take them on.

hat made you decide that Sydney needed a song contest to match Eurovision? For 60 years, Eurovision has been beaming at the rest of the world endless Belgian balladeers and chirpy Andorran pop stars and the world has watched in mute astonishment. Europe has been firing at innocent people everywhere these inane pop song missiles. We

Speed Of Life

Are you looking to bring out some of the Eurovision-style kitsch and humour in the Sydneyvision Song Contest? Unlike Eurovision, the songs in Sydneyvision don’t have to be awful to win. We have had songs that span from the serious, to the lyrical, to the completely absurd. Emu Plains once won with a science-fiction dance-off entry, but Newtown won with a beautifully filmed lyrical

Entrants’ videos are required to include something ‘iconic’ about Sydney or a particular suburb. What can this entail? This year our quest is for the Sydneyvision Song Contest to be described as ‘iconic’ (everything else in Sydney is). We are leaving the iconic content up to the entrant. If the entrant thinks it is iconic, whether that’s a Che Guevara T-shirt or a Vegemite sandwich or the Harbour Bridge, we’ll take their word for it. How will a winner be decided? Going around Eurovision-style to each Sydney suburb (“Hello South Turramurra”) would test the patience of even the most hardened Eurovision fan. We’ll have a panel of judges from film, music and entertainment to pick the winner. There is a People’s Choice award too. What: Sydneyvision Song Contest 2016 And: Entries close Monday August 1 More: sydneyvision.org

PERFECT BEAST

Written by and starring Eddie Perfect and directed by Simon Phillips, this new production is a hilarious black comedy that turns the spotlight onto modern Australia. Entitled The Beast, the play tells the story of three couples who move out to the sticks. However, they quickly find country life is not all (locally sourced) peaches and (hand-churned, bicycle-delivered) cream. Ultimately, Perfect’s confronting, disturbing and funny play aims its gun at middleclass trends, social climbers, foodies and wine snobs. The Beast will run at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House from Wednesday July 27 – Sunday August 14.

AT THE SPEED OF LIFE

The Sydney-based, disability-focused theatre ensemble Ruckus will present its latest production this month. Ruckus is a six-member, disability-led ensemble that is breaking down stereotypes with its original and powerful theatrical performances. Now, in partnership with Epic Arts (Cambodia), Ruckus is set to open a limited season of its latest production Speed Of Life. The play explores the difficulties of processing and navigating modern culture when living in a fast-moving city environment, and will star Tropfest award-winning actor and recipient of the National Disability Awards’ Emerging Leaders Award, Gerard O’Dwyer. Speed Of Life will play a limited season from Wednesday May 25 – Saturday May 28 at the PACT Centre For Emerging Artists.

Inner Voices

HISTORY: MICHAEL JACKSON

The Michael Jackson tribute show HIStory has been doing the rounds since 2011, but it returns ‘This Time Around’ with updated choreography, costumes, and a new star lead. World-touring, moonwalking MJ impersonator Dantanio will be at front of stage, taking audiences through the early Jackson 5 years to latter days in the new millennium. As expected, recreations of over 20 Jackson songs will pepper this biographical theatre production, performed by Dantanio alongside a backing band of musicians and dancers. We’re giving away two double passes to the Friday June 24 show at the State Theatre. Enter the comp at thebrag.com/freeshit.

The Ruckus photo by Claire Guidicelli

What can you tell us about the history of the competition? As with all things that happen in Sydney, it started as a conversation in a café. The Newtown Neighbourhood Centre agreed to organise the contest and from there we approached Dendy Cinemas to host the Grand Final – much to our astonishment, they said yes (Eurovision really does have an odd hold on the world). This year we have a sponsor in GoGet Carshare who have contributed an impressive first prize of $2,000.

song. The contest clearly lends itself to humour and kitsch, but everything is welcome.

Australia Votes

STOP THE VOTES

The team behind Australia Votes 2013 returns with a new production just in time for this year’s federal election. These guys have gotten political impersonation down to a fine art, and are hitting stage to reflect on the silliest moments from the 44th Parliament of Australia. Featuring Timothy Hugh Grovers and Sallie Don as facilitators, and Jonas Holt and Nathan Lentern as Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd respectively, Australia Votes 2016 promises a night of hilarity as the comedians dissect the paradoxes that make Australian political life so ridiculous. The Harold Park Hotel will host Australia Votes 2016 on Friday June 24, Sunday June 26, Friday July 1 and Friday July 8.

READING THE VITAL SIGNS

Elvis & Nixon

VOICES IN YOUR HEAD SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL FULL PROGRAM

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ANN THOMSON AND MORE

The latest exhibition at the National Art School will open later this month. Featuring more than 50 painted, drawn and sculpted works, Ann Thomson & Contemporaries will feature a selection by artists and art teachers from the National Art School in the 1950s and ’60s. A reflection on Thomson’s own body of work, which will be on display upstairs at the NAS Gallery, this unique exhibition captures a period of time in the history of the National Art School, reflecting an era of social change and the emergence of new and liberating forms of art. Ann Thomson & Contemporaries will be on display from Friday May 27 – Saturday July 23 at the NAS Gallery. thebrag.com

Inner Voices photo © Anna Gardiner

The full program for the 63rd Sydney Film Festival is here at last. With more than 300 screenings of over 250 films from around the world, the 2016 event is set to be one of the biggest yet. Running across 12 days and nights at locations in the CBD, Inner West, northern Sydney and the city’s west, the festival covers genres from feature films to documentary, short film, animation, international cinema and more. 12 films will compete for the $60,000 Sydney Film Prize, including Goldstone, Cannes feature It’s Only The End Of The World and the Robert Pattinson-starring The Childhood Of A Leader. Goldstone has already been announced as the festival’s Opening Night feature on Wednesday June 8 at the State Theatre. Other highlight features include Abe Forsythe’s Down Under, a black comedy set during the aftermath of the Cronulla Riots; Blood Father, Mel Gibson’s first acting role since 2014; and Mahana by New Zealand director Lee Tamahori. Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon will star in Elvis & Nixon, a bizarre comedy based on the true story of the meeting between Elvis Presley and President Richard Nixon at the White House. These are just some of the many highlights on the Sydney Film Festival 2016 program, running from Wednesday June 8 – Sunday June 19 at venues around Sydney. See the complete program and book tickets at sff.org.au.

Don’t Look Away, in collaboration with Red Line Productions, is bringing vintage Australian genius to the stage. Inner Voices, the complex and viscerally arresting work penned by Louis Nowra, is set to once again plunge into the psyche of man. Nowra came to the fore as a playwright through the unapologetic and powerful tones and twists of this play, which grapples with the agonies of isolation and the exercise of power. It tells the story of Ivan, the son of Catherine the Great, held captive by men whose ignorance is only matched by their ambition. Inner Voices will be at the Old Fitz Theatre from Wednesday June 15 – Saturday July 9.

Complete with seven daring women and one strapping man, the Bare Productions take on Jane Martin’s Vital Signs is as achingly funny as it is thought-provoking. Fresh from its smash hit Cinderella and Talking With productions last October, the theatre ensemble Bare Productions just can’t keep away from a solid script. Featuring a collage of intriguing and comical theatre miniatures, its crew is interpreting and performing a play imbued with contemporary life in all its complex subtleties. Vital Signs is playing until Friday May 20 at the Exchange Hotel in Balmain.

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Sebastian Maniscalco [COMEDY] Family Matters By Tegan Jones Clearly Maniscalco’s internal conflict between being both a traditionalist and a contemporary comedian makes for great stories and material.

on myself when I’m doing something embarrassing like dry riding a scooter.” With that mental image firmly in place, the conversation turns towards Maniscalco’s home life. Marriage is a topic that is often mined for comedy, so it hasn’t caused Maniscalco too many problems on the domestic front.

“Maybe it comes from the way I was raised,” he ponders. “My parents instilled work ethics, how to behave in social settings, to always bring a gift to a party and to never show up to someone’s house emptyhanded. It was always black and white growing up, there was no grey area. So every time I see grey I get disappointed,” he laughs.

“It’s something [my wife has] been a great sport with,” he says, “because a lot of the material has to do with how her family behaves. She’s been great about it, and besides, I also poke fun at my family. My father comes from Sicily and he’s an immigrant, so it was a different way of growing up. He’s very old-world and hard-working. It was a loving family but also one that always told you to go out and make something of yourself.

“My wife kinda lives in that grey area. She’s always saying, ‘Maybe they don’t know better,’ but I want to hang out with people that do know better! Maybe I take these little idiosyncrasies in life and blow them up and exaggerate them for comedy, but the core of it is my disappointment in how people act in public.”

“The material I’m going to be doing hasn’t been performed before,” he explains of his forthcoming shows. “It centres on family – my father is a big part of my act and now also my wife, who I have been married to for two-and-a-half years. It also centres on observational humour, my point of view and my disgust with human behaviour.”

“I’m not walking around in a grocery store going, ‘Stop feeling the fruit,’ but I often whisper to whoever I’m with. I’ve kinda brought it to social media with the hashtag #ArentYouEmbarrassed. Anything I see while I’m at the airport or at dinner, I’ll try to film it and make fun of it. It’s all in good fun – it’s not like I’m being malicious or mean about it, it’s just laughing at what people do. Sometimes I even turn the camera

Seeing as his family placed so much emphasis on hard work and practicality, it’s a wonder Maniscalco ended up in show business. “My father is a hairdresser and my mother did creative writing,” he says. “So creativity was definitely something that was very prevalent in our house. The unique thing about it is that although my father was very strict when it came to earning a living, he was also very supportive of

Pain is something that seems to be a common thread with comedians. Stand-up can be a way to process or deal with the past or difficult situations, but it hasn’t always been easy for Maniscalco to incorporate this kind of material into his shows. “My parents got divorced five years ago and I was never able to talk about it because it was really close to home; it really affected my sister and I. Normally it happens when kids are ten and here I am at 38 years of age dealing with my mother going on dating sites. At the time it wasn’t funny, but now I can look back and poke fun.” What: Aren’t You Embarrassed? Where: Enmore Theatre When: Saturday June 4

Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town

■ Musical Theatre

■ Film

WE WILL ROCK YOU

THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE

Now playing at the Sydney Lyric Theatre Even though Queen are not onstage tonight, their spirit is, and it’s ready to slay. Penned by Ben Elton in 2001 in collaboration with Queen, We Will Rock You takes the band’s most legendary tracks and imbues them deep into its heart, leaving before us a performance of champions. Like the band, it’s spirited, rebellious and accessible in the face of abnormality, heavy on the pomp and grandeur, and completely rock’n’roll. We Will Rock You is a futuristic tale of a world devoid of rock music – call it the Footloose of rock musicals if you will – where all trace of this musical era has been wiped away. The creation of music has been banned by the Killer Queen (Casey Donovan) who keeps the kids at bay by hooking them onto social media

In cinemas now

and feeding them curated doses of pop drivel.

memories can bring rock’n’roll back to the world.

But there are rebels like Galileo Figaro (Gareth Keegan) and Scaramouche (Erin Clare) who have rock’n’roll in their veins (and names). Like a man possessed, Galileo spits out lyrics from ’70s rock to noughties pop and bursts into Queen song after Queen song with no inkling of why or what it means. That is, until he meets the Bohemians, a group of renegades obsessed with piecing together knowledge of when rock ruled the airwaves. They dress in honour of their heroes Ozzy Osbourne (Jaz Flowers), Britney Spears (Thern Reynolds) and Buddy Holly (Brian Mannix), worship at the altar of Freddie Mercury and long to find the ‘dreamer’, a person whose

Much applause must be given to costume designer Tim Goodchild for imagining up a futuristic world filled with Barbie dolls and anarchists bathed in stellar colour and runway-worthy couture. But while larger-than-life comedic duo Flowers and Reynolds bring some colour and shade to the performance, and Keegan holds his own well, it’s Clare who steals the show. This leading lady never ceases to surprise with her sass, charm and powerful vocals. Like the music of Queen before her, she has the ability to tear into the audience’s hearts and veins and leave them in utter rhapsody. Stephanie Yip

I had genuine concerns going into this thing. Video game movies are rarely any good outside the realms of irony – just look at any of the attempts from the ’90s. It also didn’t bode well that I couldn’t even give away my spare ticket. I had to brave an onslaught of screaming children with names like ‘Mason’ and ‘Jax’ alone. But despite my best efforts at cynicism… I had a damn good time. The story follows Red, a literal angry bird who is kind of a dick. He lives on the outskirts of town because he has allowed his life to be dictated by growing up as an orphan with comically large eyebrows. Red does stuff like yelling at senior citizens and ruining children’s birthday parties while blaming everyone but himself for his failures. After nearly killing a child, Red is sent to anger management class, where he meets other social outcasts who teach the audience the meaning of friendship.

We Will Rock You

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The Angry Birds Movie

Will kids like The Angry Birds Movie? It’s a cartoon that’s injected with toilet humour and slapstick comedy. Of course they will. But what about us adults?

In a move that’s reminiscent of the vast majority of Western history, the pigs sail up to the birds’ island nation

to indulge in a spot of colonisation. They pretend to be chill and introduce fun stuff like trampolines and slingshots to the local population before stripping them of their most precious natural resource – their eggs. Only Red sees through their bullshit until it’s too late, and the birds finally realise that it’s OK to be different and sometimes it’s beneficial to get pissed off. This movie could have been a complete shit show. Flightless birds hurling themselves at pig fortresses isn’t exactly narrative gold. However, characterisation saves the day, and following Red, Chuck and Bomb on their journey to becoming unlikely heroes is both funny and delightful. There are plenty of dirty jokes to satiate the parents, overt game references for the fans and a genuine sweetness to the entire film. Also, I approve of any movie that drops a mad beat while a character rubs his non-existent bird nips to the thought of Mighty Eagle. Tegan Jones

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Xxxx photo by xxxx

ebastian Maniscalco is a rising star in the comedy world, with a busy 12 months ahead on stage and screen. Despite a packed calendar, however, he’s found time to head to Australia with his Aren’t You Embarrassed? tour. We catch up with the US comic to talk about his craft and where he draws his inspiration from.

“As time goes on, I feel a lot more comfortable not only discussing our families but the things we go through on a day-to-day basis,” Maniscalco says. “At the time it might not seem funny – for example, we’re remodelling our house right now. It took me a while to find the funny in all of that, because it is taking so long. Sometimes time heals wounds.”

“But my wife’s family is very nonchalant in the way they behave. They say, ‘Whatever makes you happy,’ when for us it was, ‘Whatever puts food on the table. Go get a job.’ So I definitely exploit those differences in my act and I think people can relate to both ends of the spectrum.”

Maniscalco hints at something that makes comedy a unique art – comedians are able to get away with criticising and making fun of human behaviour, which Maniscalco certainly isn’t shy about doing onstage. I wonder whether he calls people out on their behaviour in public, or if he saves it for his act.

me doing something that I enjoyed. When your son or daughter goes into the entertainment business, it isn’t something that is lightly swallowed, because it isn’t consistent, it’s not stable, you don’t know where your next dollar is coming from. But my parents were very supportive from day one and still are. My father is my biggest fan and my biggest critic – he’ll come backstage after a show with a notepad filled with things that didn’t work and things that he liked.

game on Gaming news and reviews with Adam Guetti

New Releases

In what is the biggest surprise of the month, Disney has announced that it will be cancelling its Disney Infi nity line and getting out of the business of self-publishing games altogether. “After a thorough evaluation, we have modified our approach to console gaming and will transition exclusively to a licensing model. This shift in strategy means we will cease production of Disney Infi nity, where the lack of growth in the toys-to-life market, coupled with high development costs, has created a challenging business model,” the company told IGN. This follows the previous news that there would not be a Disney Infi nity 4.0 title released this year after last year’s inclusion of the Star Wars franchise.

We’re rapidly approaching June, which means we’ve almost hit the halfway point of the video game calendar. That’s certainly a good thing though, because it’s a month filled to the brim with titles you should want to get your hot little hands on.

2016

Kicking things off is the racing simulator Assetto Corsa (PS4, XBO, PC), bringing over 90 high-performance vehicles along for the ride. It speeds straight onto store shelves from Thursday June 2. Meanwhile, a day later on Friday June 3, One Piece: Pirate Warriors fans can continue to get their video game fix with One Piece: Burning Blood (PS4, XBO, Vita). The fighter pits some of the series’ most popular characters against one another for ultimate victory.

One And Done

Nintendo 3DS owners will be happy to know that they won’t be left behind either and can boot up their handheld on Saturday June 11 with Kirby: Planet Robobot. This time the pink puff meets Hulkbuster when he must utilise powerful new armour to restore his home.

Despite previously having a rather large presence at E3 (the gaming world’s most significant annual convention), Nintendo has announced that this year it will only be showcasing a single game on the show floor – none other than The Legend Of Zelda for Wii U. According to a company press release, “The Wii U version of the game will be playable for the first time on the E3 show floor, and it will be the only playable game Nintendo presents at the show, in order to provide attendees a complete immersion.” How exactly this immersion will be created currently remains unknown, but this news follows the announcement that the game itself has been pushed to 2017 and will also be available on the Nintendo NX – expected to hit store shelves sometime in March.

Then on Sunday June 22, one of the year’s most ambitious games finally lands on PlayStation 4. Yes, there’s a hell of a lot of hype behind Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky and its incredibly immense space world, so here’s hoping it can live up to expectations. Closing out the month is Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PS4, XBO, PC, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita) on Wednesday June 29. With signs already showing that the series’ humorous approach will be adopted for the blockbuster, this is the game you’ve been looking for.

Review: Ratchet & Clank (PS4)

atchet & Clank is a strange beast. More reboot than remake, the game takes spoonfuls of inspiration from all over the place. It’s adapted from the upcoming feature fi lm, which itself is based on the original 2002 PS2 title. That means long-time fans can expect to see many of the same elements that shot the series to fame, while much of the plot and characters will be syphoned straight from the silver screen. Still, what isn’t strange is how much fun the end result is to play. Ratchet himself is a lombax (a bipedal, humanoid species) who works in a garage on the planet Veldin, but spends his days dreaming of the Galactic Rangers – an elite group of interplanetary heroes fronted by Captain Qwark. Naturally Ratchet idolises the Rangers, so the game picks up with him leaving the garage to try his hand at becoming one via a televised audition. You’ll also meet Clank – your robotic partner in crime who won’t just act as your personal companion by being strapped to your back, but also serves as a great aid in gameplay situations. Whether you’re using him to make larger leaps or taking complete control to solve puzzles with throwable robots, his company is always welcomed. For most of the game’s duration, though, you’ll be falling in love with Ratchet’s combat and wonderful weaponry. In many ways, Insomniac has crafted a list of its greatest creations, including

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five minutes

To Infinity No More

NEWS

JUN

WITH DAVE

DESI FROM THE NERD CAVE

or those who aren’t familiar with The Nerd Cave, can you give us a brief history? We are a community centre for nerds. We aim to have a fun, inclusive and safe environment no matter where your nerd-dom lies. What are some of The Nerd Cave’s weekly events? We have a regular board game group that meets every Wednesday night and Friday night, along with Magic: The Gathering players who play every Monday and Friday night. HeroClix players meet on Tuesdays to see what really happens in a Batman versus Superman fight and Star Wars: X-Wing players pop in on Wednesday, Star Trek: Attack Wing players on Thursdays. The Nerd Cave covers a wide range of games, platforms and genres. What are some of the current favourites? Our ITG (In The Groove) arcade machine is always a favourite, but I would have to say that League Of Legends is always hugely popular for us! HeroClix is starting to grow and Betrayal At House On The Hill, a board game, has always been a Cave favourite.

The Nerd Cave For gamers who are more accustomed to playing solo, what makes The Nerd Cave such a good destination for taking part in the community? There will always be someone around to play with! It’s also a great way to break into new hobbies and meet some new people who play the same games as you. What does The Nerd Cave’s Big Day In involve on Saturday May 21? The Big Day In is an event

we hold once a month that is 18+, and BYO. Just like its namesake, prepare yourself for a full day of gaming that will make you need to sleep it all off on Sunday… or come back and play more on Sunday! What: Big Day In Where: The Nerd Cave, Level 1, 7 Randle St, Surry Hills When: Saturday May 21 More: thenerdcave.com. au

a number of favourites that didn’t make their way into the series until a few iterations later. For those who like to keep things relatively safe, there’s the fire-spitting Magmabuster or the Peacemaker that fires out multiple rockets. But embrace the developer’s complete ridiculousness and you’ll fi nd the Sheepinator (turning enemies into sheep), the Groovitron (a grenade shaped like a disco ball that forces enemies to dance) or the Pixeliser HD (which shoots pixel blasts and turns targets into retro versions of their character models). Even better is that every weapon can be upgraded with a pretty robust levelling system. The fact that Ratchet & Clank is as beautiful as it is (which is positively stunning) is almost irrelevant. More important is that whether it’s remake or reboot, the whole experience is supremely enjoyable from start to fi nish and should be adored by fans and newbies alike. Adam Guetti

BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16 :: 19

Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...

ALBUM OF THE WEEK CAR SEAT HEADREST

sort-of-but-not-really concept album about a young man named Joe who sort-of-but-not-really suffers from a nervous breakdown.

Teens Of Denial Matador

Will Toledo is the voice of a generation that doesn’t want a voice. He’s the spokesperson for an aimless cause, an over-caffeinated Bob Dylan who has spent three hours on Wikipedia reading about the environmental destruction he knows he can’t halt. His music is angry, but its focus is not the inhumanity of war. Rather, it rails against the millions of insignificant evils that make up everyday life – that ever-so-casual strand of cruelty. Will Toledo mightn’t be an obvious spokesman for the masses, but he’s got plenty that needs saying.

THE LIVING END Shift Dew Process/Universal

When The Living End released the first single from Shift, there was a small ‘backlash’ from fans. The defiant slow burn of ‘Keep On Running’ somehow left a bad taste in a few fans’ mouths – did they just hear strings on a Living End record? Of course, what they wanted was ‘classic’ Living End – fast-paced action with more guitar riffs than you can poke a stick at. The opening tracks on this album hand them all out in a row, ‘One Step’ and ‘Monkey’ laying down frantic energy and deep groves. What separates The Living End’s seventh album from previous releases is its maturity. Chris Cheney’s songwriting is more personal than ever, evident in the lead single and the grimly named ‘Death’ and ‘Staring Down The Barrel’. After the initial burst of signature tunes, the charm of this record comes to life as the band spreads its wings. ‘With Enemies Like That’ is best Living End ballad to date, while tracks like ‘Further Away’ and ‘Coma’ expand upon their signature, incorporating sounds from outside their rockabilly-influenced-rock wheelhouse.

Teens Of Denial, a sort-of-but-not-really followup to his major label debut Teens Of Style, is a

It’s also both the largest-scale and most intimate album Toledo has yet recorded. Though songs like ‘Vincent’ and ‘The Ballad Of The Costa Concordia’ are almost as grandiose (and as long) as ‘Boxing Day’, the 15-minute masterpiece that kicked off his album Nervous Young Man, they’re more precise than that track, more pained. Teens Of Denial feels like the kind of album you have listened to your whole life even if you’ve only heard it once. You might not yet know Will Toledo, but Will Toledo knows you. Joseph Earp

JAMES BLAKE

CORINNE BAILEY RAE

DEAKIN

MASSIVE

The Colour In Anything Polydor/Universal

The Heart Speaks In Whispers EMI/Universal

Sleep Cycle My Animal Home

Destination Somewhere Independent

James Blake can’t stop cutting closer and closer to the quick. For all its surface-level beauty and power, The Colour In Anything is a pulsing wound, as confessional as pop records come. It’s a mosaic of mirrors – a thousand unobstructed views of Blake reflected back.

Corinne Bailey Rae’s new album – her first in six years – opens with a false start. ‘The Skies Will Break’ melds harp flourishes with noncommittal dance production, and its single-line chorus against this backing makes for an unconvincing result.

There’s no better insight into Animal Collective’s most elusive member than a solo album. Several years in the making, Deakin has created a vivid pastiche of all that he has done with the band, distilled into a brief but highly satisfying LP.

Following this opener, however, The Heart Speaks In Whispers improves dramatically. Bailey Rae glides between genres without selfconsciousness, from lush ballads to more upbeat, sensual tracks. The songs are, for the most part, fairly lengthy, and this allows them to unfold gradually. Repeated listens yield an improved appreciation of the parts of this album, as well as its total sum.

Many Animal Collective hallmarks can be found here. Field recordings become ambient suites, and the way Deakin structures his vocal harmonies in ‘Just Am’ is eerily reminiscent of Panda Bear, even if his vocal timbre in other ranges is altogether his own. ‘Footy’ is an exhilarating exercise in machine gun hi-hats and big swells of delay – not rhythmically unlike something you’d hear on TV On The Radio’s Return To Cookie Mountain.

Blues-based hard rock has been around since dinosaurs walked the earth, and it’s virtually impossible to break any new ground in this subgenre. The bands attaining reasonable notoriety in this scene are the ones that inject a little boogie or soul into their sound, and that’s what you get from Melbourne four-piece Massive.

There’s a kind of neutered horror to this record. Blake sounds like a man who has just realised his suffering has no limit, and ‘Waves Know Shores’ is a leering howl of pain pretending to be a ballad. Though there’s evidence enough to suggest Blake is mourning the end of a relationship – even the title of ‘Put That Away And Talk To Me’ sounds like a command traded between loveless lovers during a spat – it would be reductive to call the album a ‘break-up record’. It’s more than that. It’s an album about confronting frailty – your own, and the frailty of others. “I told you what I’d do / If one day I woke and couldn’t find the colour in anything,” Blake threatens on the exemplary title track, his voice terrifyingly cold.

Shift is a standout album by one of Australia’s most-loved bands. Long may The Living End reign.

Yet despite how much The Colour In Anything is of hurt, it never wants to inflict it. It’s the sound of a man looking for friends and finding them in his listeners. It’s an open invitation. Or maybe it’s a plea.

Spencer Scott

Joseph Earp

Bailey Rae’s indulgence in a variety of styles is somewhat reminiscent of the eclecticism heard on Kimbra’s The Golden Echo, though The Heart Speaks In Whispers generally eschews futuristic production styles in favour of more familiar soundscapes and instrumentation. A key uniting factor across the album is Rae’s strong (but never overly showy) vocal performance. The singer’s selfassuredness results in a potent ability to emote, which only rarely crosses into the saccharine. Ultimately, the pleasure of Bailey Rae’s third album lies in her ability to confidently and cohesively indulge in a variety of genres and moods.

Whether the lyrical concerns of this album touch on the occasional departures from performing with Animal Collective, or the difficulty Deakin found releasing this record itself, it’s fulfilling to hear either way.

John Rowley

Nicholas Johnson

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK Despite their recent digital sabbatical, Radiohead have not deserted us. A Moon Shaped Pool, the band’s ninth studio album, brings with it a sharper focus than 2011’s experimental The King Of Limbs. Radiohead are a band in constant motion; nothing remains the same for too long. This remarkable record is despairing, delicate and desolate in equal measure – and provides possibly the band’s most listenable collection of songs. Just don’t expect to relax at any time.

RADIOHEAD A Moon Shaped Pool XL Recordings

20 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

Thom Yorke’s aching words and melodies meet with Jonny Greenwood’s textures, ones cultivated through his recent series of dystopian soundtracks (There Will Be Blood, The Master). As ever, grim truths decorate

Those who relish Animal Collective’s recordings as a unit of four will be delighted to hear a whole release dedicated to the one member who can’t always be there. The album epitomises what he brings to the group, and mid-record suite ‘Shadow Mine’ is a tiny peek into an actual recording from a personal trip he took during the Merriweather sessions.

beautiful soundscapes. The fact that ‘True Love Waits’ – a throwback to the 1995 Bends-era Radiohead – fits seamlessly into this record speaks to a synergy in producing rich melodies at will. There’s an artisanal patience evident in finding the right avenue for tracks that have long been part of the band’s live repertoire. As intriguing as ever in its make-up, A Moon Shaped Pool contains some beautiful arrangements, providing an unexpectedly upbeat tone to combat the gloom. From the uneasy subconscious of ‘Daydreaming’ through to the spiky guitar solo of ‘Identikit’, joy persists through menacing undertones.

The soulfulness of the Massive sound mainly comes from Brad Marr’s lead vocals. He manages to howl and croon at the same time, and does so very skilfully. The band behind him hustles along with forward, bluesy momentum. Throw in some serious hard rock swagger, and the whole package comes together rather nicely. There is some sweet variation across the course of the ten tracks, which is often hard to achieve in this style of music. From the uptempo crunch of ‘Blood Money Blues’ to the darker, broodier groove of ‘The Fall’ (which actually fires up and goes hell for leather at the halfway point before getting moody again), to the swampy, minimalist blues of ‘Beaten Dog’, there are some excellent fluctuations between light and shade. Best track honours, however, go to the emotional, soulful ‘Made Of Stone’. Rod Whitfi eld

OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... BEN FOLDS - Way To Normal APOLLO BROWN & GUILTY SIMPSON - Dice Game HENRY WAGONS - After What I Did Last Night...

THE CHURCH - The Blurred Crusade HUSKY - Forever So

Tim Armitage thebrag.com

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VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

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up all night out all week . . .

live reviews What we've been out to see...

THE DRONES, HARMONY, YOU BEAUTY Metro Theatre Saturday May 14

The Metro was already three-quarters full when first supports You Beauty played. I noticed several punters with the band’s most recent T-shirt slung over their shoulders, and a mate told me how they were now his favourite Sydney group. The local following they’ve amassed is impressive and deserved. Harmony are following The Drones around the country as main support for the Feelin Kinda Free album tour, but were unfortunately plagued by sound issues. The roughness of guitars and lead vocals didn’t blend with the harmonising of the band’s female trio, who also sing backup for The Drones. Although Harmony’s 2014 self-titled LP proves their ability to make the two components work well, the effect of the counterpoint was lost. After an unusually long intermission the TOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR PHO lights were dimmed and Enya’s ‘Orinoco Flow’ sounded. The majority of the crowd had hands raised, chanting “Sail away” until The Drones emerged, armed themselves, and transitioned into their own version, a distorted meltdown of

Enya’s track. The first run of songs were from most recent LP Feelin Kinda Free, the audience already well acquainted with ‘Taman Shud’, ‘Private Execution’ and ‘Boredom’. As the set progressed, Gareth Liddiard and co. travelled further back through their catalogue with cuts from 2013’s I See Seaweed and 2008’s Havilah. Unlike most of the people in attendance, this was my first Drones show, and I hadn’t listened to much of their material before the new album came out in March. However, I knew this band was important – that some call them Australia’s best live act – and since their 1997 beginnings, they haven’t stopped making music in a way perfect for them and no-one else. I apologise to The Drones for taking this long to come aboard, but also wholeheartedly thank them – not just for persevering, but for making Australian pub rock so painfully loud, psychedelic and like no-one else. It seems for many in their audiences today, it is a moment of pride to witness a band they already knew was exceptional, and to reaffirm the faith that came after seeing The Drones over a decade ago with 20 other people in a Fitzroy pub. Elias Kwiet

PICS :: AM

melbourne ska orchestra + hot tomato band 13:05:16 :: Manning Bar :: Manning Rd Camperdown 9563 6000

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

BLACK CAB

Newtown Social Club Saturday May 14 Melbourne’s Black Cab brought history, synth and electro soundscapes to Newtown Social Club over the weekend for the launch of their new single ‘Uniforms’. It isn’t the biggest venue in the world – it doesn’t take much for the room to fill up – but this gig was properly packed. Everyone was dancing terribly (think Bez of Happy Mondays fame, their official dancer and drug dealer), but so were the band, so it was OK.

live at the sly

PICS :: DC

Everyone jerked and twitched happily along to ‘Victorious’, ‘Sexy Polizei’, ‘Uniforms’, ‘Call Signs’, ‘Closing Ceremony’, ‘Church In Berlin’, and for the encore, a rendition of Joy Division’s ‘Isolation’. It’s the closest to Ian Curtis that I’ve ever come and I won’t be forgetting this gig anytime soon. If you’re at all familiar with Black Cab’s oeuvre then you’ll know they love the marriage between music, culture and

history. As lead singer Andrew Coates confirmed in a 2014 interview after the release of their fourth studio album Games Of The XXI Olympiad, “We’ve always been cultural history nuts, particularly for Europe in the 1970s, and I’ve always been fascinated by German history, culture and music.” The influences of British new wave, postpunk and Manchester hung in the air all night with spritzes of krautrock and lyrics inspired by post-WWII Germany. Black Cab are all about the concept album. Their first was Altamont Diary (2004), based on the Altamont Speedway Festival in 1969. Their second, Jesus East (2006), was based on the premise that George Harrison had left an ashram in India and travelled to Germany via the Autobahn. 2009’s Call Signs was an ode to East Germany – that’s when the postpunk and krautrock influences on their sound really came to the fore. And Games Of The XXI Olympiad was inspired by the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and the East German doping scandal. I wonder what world ‘Uniforms’ belongs to – a totalitarian one, or something else altogether? Sarah Little

12:05:16 :: Slyfox :: 199 Enmore Rd Enmore 9557 2917 22 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

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out & about Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

uesday marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT or IDAHOBIT, depending on whom you ask). This week is also my 50th column here at the BRAG.

I’ve written before about instances of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. Quite a lot, actually. And it makes me think. It seems like a lot of people would argue that particularly homophobia isn’t a ‘thing’ anymore (and a lot of people would argue that biphobia was never a ‘thing’ while simultaneously saying that bisexuality doesn’t exist and is just a stepping stone to homosexuality – newsflash guys, that’s biphobia). We look at incidents like what happened to Isaac Keatinge a few weeks ago in Newtown as total anomalies – and typically, they are. But homophobia isn’t just outward aggression. I’ve written about that before, too. Homophobia exists in the little things, like when my partner calls to make an appointment for two of us, and the phone operator always asks, “And your partner, what’s his name?” Transphobia exists in the little things, too (and the big things: aggression towards transgender people is far more rampant than other LGB people). When you ask someone, “But what’s your real name?” or “What’s your old name?” you’re not letting them assert their own identity. When people argue that because LGBT people aren’t being bashed in the street every weekend (that we know of), we’ve gotten over homo/bi/transphobia, they’re forgetting the myriad of other ways that LGBT people experience microaggressions. As a columnist, it’s probably my job to educate people that these aggressions still exist. This column is a place for me to discuss LGBT issues with Sydneysiders, and so it is a great place to air my grievances about the little aggressions I face. But at what point does education stop being the job of the already burdened LGBT folk? When you’re in a position to educate, you

should. But when you’re at the pub, and your friendly local ‘trans oracle’ (as a friend of mine calls himself) sits down, when should you stop bombarding him with questions? If you don’t ask the questions, you’ll likely be one of those bombastic idiots who declare, “Why do we have an international day against homophobia? No-one is homophobic anymore!” (Quite possibly as you simultaneously defend your right to say, “That’s so gay,” because the word has become so divorced from its homosexual connotations – nope.) But when you continue to ask questions, all of a sudden your mate has become a walking trans encyclopedia who is always burdened with educating you and never gets the chance to just sit at the pub and enjoy his beer. Though, granted, the other week I asked my cisgender male friend if he sits on the toilet when he’s going to do both, or stands, then sits, so for a brief moment he was my ‘people with penises oracle’. The difference between these situations is that the ‘trans oracle’ faces these enquiries constantly, most often by those who continue to oppress him (and the questions are usually ignorant, offensive, or easily Googleable). While my question was certainly easily Googleable, it wasn’t really offensive, or perpetuating oppression of my cisgender male friend and his toilet habits. As a columnist, it’s my job to educate you, but it’s not up to your gay mate at the pub. Leave them alone, and when you have a question, Google it. Or ask me. Tweet me @lucyj_watson if you like, and I’ll write a column about your specific issue. Or if you want to keep asking your friends, remember how often they get this, and how laborious it often is, and consider chucking them a penny for their thoughts. And finally, don’t be a homo/bi/transphobe.

this week…

On Wednesday May 18, Birdcage is launching its DJ competition, The Lezident, at its regular weekly party at Slyfox. So every Wednesday for the Valerie Yum

next few weeks, there will be some fresh new talent hitting the decks for their chance to win a residency at Birdcage. Come cheer for the newbies!

Betty Grumble

This Thursday May 19, MAASive Lates is holding a fashion-themed event at the Powerhouse Museum. Entry is free and the evening is hosted by Betty Grumble. There’ll be music from Valerie Yum, and a bunch of workshops and exhibits. If you haven’t been to Homosocial in a while, don’t forget it’s on every Friday at Secret Garden Bar, and this Friday May 20 is no different. Every week there’s something excellent to see, and something equally excellent to drink. Then on Saturday May 21 is the May instalment of Heaps Gay at the Oxford Hotel, with music from Rhythm Of The Night DJs, Bodycon, Bad Deep, Laprats and Bunny Hill, and performances from 110%.

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g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week David Bowie

WEDNESDAY MAY 18 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Manouche Wednesday - feat: Gadjo Guitars Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Los Espinas + Psychedelic Porn Crumpets + Keggin Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 8:30pm. Free. Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. The Barren Spinsters + Balko + Hayley James + Dane Overtone + Jonathan Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. The Ramblers Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. Free.

19 – THURSDAY MAY 21 SATURDAY MAY

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Sydney Opera House

David Bowie: Nothing Has Changed

Drums/Bone/Bass Trio Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $10.

THURSDAY MAY 19 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

8pm (and 2pm Saturday). $69.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES &

FOLK Adam Young + Steph Miller + Sim Shame + Jim Mongrel The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. Don McGlashan The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $25. Ginger’s Jam - feat: Various Bands Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. Free. Glenn Esmond Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 7:30pm. Free. Harbourview Hullabaloo - feat: Zack Martin + Kenneth D’Aran Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks. 7pm. Free. Matty T Wall Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $10.

FRIDAY MAY 20 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Baltic Bar Mitzvah Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 9pm. Free. Band Of Men Penrith RSL, Penrith. 9pm. Free. Blake Tailor Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill. 8pm. Free. Blake Wiggins Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. Free. Camp Cope + Ouch My Face + Hannahband Black Wire Records, Annandale. 7pm. $12. Castlecomer Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $17.90. Cath & Him St George Leagues Club, Kogarah. 9pm. Free. David Bowie: Nothing Has Changed - feat: Iota + Tim Rogers + Steve Kilbey + Deborah Conway + Adalita + Jack Ladder + Sydney Symphony Orchestra Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $69. Eluveitie Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $66.30.

Evie Dean Hurstville RSL , Hurstville. 7pm. Free. Glenn Esmond Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm. Free. Godriguez + Bin Juice + Hunch + Matrick Jones + Borneo + Bustlip Red Rattler, Marrickville. 8pm. $10. Hurricane Fall Colonial Hotel, Werrington. 8:30pm. Free. Jellybean Jam Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. Free. Live At The Horse feat: Sck Chx + Dear Seattle The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free. Loose Tooth + Black Stone From The Sun Tokyo Sing Song, Newtown. 8pm. Free. Lurch & Chief + The Vanns Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7:30pm. $16.90. O Rappa + Mat McHugh Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point. 9pm. $79.40. Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 10pm. Free. Regulators Marlborough Hotel, Newtown. 11pm. Free. Rose Carleo The Oriental Hotel, Springwood. 8pm. Free. Tash Sultana + Josh Cashman + Grace Pitts Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $16.50. Ted Nash Lord Raglan Hotel, Sydney. 7pm. Free. The Cat Empire + Pierce Brothers Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $69.90. The JP Project Duo Crown Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. Free. The Maladies + Hound + Darren Cross Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free. The Pretty Littles + Rackett Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free. Tinpan Orange The Vanguard, Newtown. 7pm. $23.80.

songwriters’ secrets WITH

WILDER LEE

The First Song I Wrote 1. Would probably be a halfarsed love song to score a date to the year ten formal. Ahh, the things a kid would do for romance. Funnily enough, I think I went alone that year.

The Last Song I Released My debut single ‘Into The Wild’ was released on May 6 with the good people at The A&R Department. Y’all should check it out on iTunes or Spotify. Pretty much an acoustic concoction of sleepless, ponder-filled nights and some inner-demon-slaying. Good times. Songwriting Secrets 3. I’m not sure if there’s a secret, however I have one word that comes to mind when I write: vulnerability. 24 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

I think the most enduring songs are all a by-product of a writer’s vulnerability. The ability to bare your soul when writing I think is key, especially as a lyricist or singersongwriter. The Song That Makes Me 4. Proud I wrote a song called ‘Whiskey Soul’. The song is loosely based on the deterioration of my parents’ marriage. I recall as a child my dad would often come home drunk and smelling of whiskey – he would look at us kids in the eye and say, “You’ve got your mother’s eyes!” after which he would break down and we would have to tuck him into bed. I make mention of this in the song. I played it the other day to my mum and she bawled her eyes out – it was a big moment for me.

The Song That Changed 5. My Life Oh man, that’s like asking me what sort of oxygen you think made you a better person. Ha! Umm, I can’t pinpoint one song, but if I would have to choose an artist it would be Joni Mitchell – oh man, the phrasing and the storytelling! Oh, and a flavour of the week would be a song called ‘Comrade’ by Volcano Choir – I keep coming back to it. Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Tuesday May 24 And: Also appearing at The Record Crate on Saturday June 11 and The Soda Factory on Sunday July 3 More: Supporting Sahara Beck at Newtown Social Club on Thursday May 19

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David Bowie © Duffy Archive

iOTA + Tim Rogers + Steve Kilbey + Deborah Conway + Adalita + Jack Ladder + Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Alpine + Jess Kent + RW Grace Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. $44.80. Blake Tailor Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 4pm. Free. Dave Anthony Crown Hotel, Sydney. 4:30pm. Free. David Bowie: Nothing Has Changed - feat: Iota + Tim Rogers + Steve Kilbey + Deborah Conway + Adalita

+ Jack Ladder + Sydney Symphony Orchestra Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $69. Dee Donavan Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 12pm. Free. Fox Company + Space Monk Marlborough Hotel, Newtown. 9pm. Free. Grooveworks Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 12pm. Free. Live At The Horse feat: Day Spa The White Horse, Surry Hills. 7pm. Free. Live At The Sly - feat: Angry Little Gods + Edema Ruh + Delphine Geoff Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm. Free. Mark N The Blues Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 8:30pm. Free. Milko FoucaultLarche Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 12pm. Free. No Refunds - feat: Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. Free. Roadhouse Rockabilly Night Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen, Newtown. 7pm. Free. Rowena Michael Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 12pm. Free. Sahara Beck + Wilder Lee Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $15. Slide McBride Band Woollahra Hotel, Woollahra. 7:30pm. Free. The Cat Empire + Pierce Brothers Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $56.17. The Pretty Littles Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.50. White Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Wild Honey + Eden Mulholland Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free.

g g guide gig g

gig picks

up all night out all week...

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Angelena Locke Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm. Free. Anthony Charlton Hornsby Inn, Hornsby. 7pm. Free. Lumpy And The Dumpers Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 6pm. Free. Michael Kopp 99 On York, Sydney. 5:30pm. Free. Queen Porter Stomp + Brother Jimmy The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. Valvewire + Ed Clayton-Jones + Louis Green Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Alfredo Malabello The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7pm. Free. Greg Poppleton And The Bakelite Broadcasters Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst. 6:45pm. $99. Plavi Orkestar + S.A.R.S Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $83.20. Suite Az Fridays + DJ Troy T The Arthouse, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

SATURDAY MAY 21 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC The Strides Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

David Bowie: Nothing Has Changed - feat: Iota + Tim Rogers + Steve Kilbey + Deborah Conway + Adalita + Jack Ladder + Sydney Symphony Orchestra Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 2pm/8pm. $69. DJ Koby Mandic Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 8:30pm. Free. Fear Like Us + Run Squirrel + Canine + Burlap Black Wire Records, Annandale. 3pm. Free. Fletcher Pilon The Lair @ Metro Theatre, Sydney. 2:30pm. $25. Geoff Davies The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free. GJ Donovan Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free. Glenn Esmond Trio Marlborough Hotel,

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Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7pm. $16.90. The Cat Empire + Pierce Brothers Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $69.90. The Chosen Few Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 10pm. Free. The Vacationists + Wells + Los Espinas Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $11.50. Tired Lion + The Hard Aches Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $25. Turbojugend Present Turbobelco - feat: Hytest + The Neptune Power Federation + Mucho Sonar Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 6pm. $12. Vera Blue Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $20. Whelan & Gover Crown Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Angelena Locke Rocks Brewing Co, Alexandria. 2pm. Free. Let The Five Sided Cannon Roar - feat: The Cannons + Cairo Snow + Sundown State Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

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18 May

Newtown. 11pm. Free. Groovology Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. Free. Jed Zarb Wallacia Hotel, Wallacia. 8pm. Free. Jive Bombers Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. Free. MMRS (Tim Burton Wonderland) - feat: Final Frontier + Reigner + The Daily Chase Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 9pm. $20. Pirra + The Harry Heart Chrysalis Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. Free. Running In The Shadow Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free. Screeching Weasel Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $65. Secret Suburbs + Bleeding Gums Murphy The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5. Sound City Trio Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm. Free. Soundbird Penrith RSL, Penrith. 9pm. Free. Stephanie Lea Novotel, Rooty Hill. 6:30pm. Free. Steve Crocker The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm. Free. Tensions Arise + Segression + Not Another Sequel, Just Another Prequel + Pull No Punches

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SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

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(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

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SUNDAY MAY 22 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Den Hanrahan + Gallie + Mick Daley The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $7. Miss Peaches Hootenanny Bluegrass Sundays Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen, Newtown. 8pm. Free. Not Good With Horses Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 4:30pm. Free. Singer Songwriter Showcase - feat: Various Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 6pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Blake Tailor The Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 12pm. Free. Dallas Crane Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 2pm. $23.60. Evie Dean Wallacia Hotel, Wallacia. 1pm. Free. Greg Hooper & Dee Donavon Penrith RSL, Penrith. 11am. $8. Jonny Gretsch’s Wasted Ones Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. Free. Outlier Trio + U2 Elevation Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5pm. Free. Stephanie Lea Northies Cronulla Hotel, Sydney. 1pm. Free. Sunday Sessions feat: Citizen Of The World The White Horse, Surry Hills. 7pm. Free. Tash Sultana + Josh Cashman Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 6:30pm. $18.70. The Be-Bop-A-Lula Band Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

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Mark N’ The Blues The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 3pm. $5. Ted Nash Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm. Free.

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Animal Ventura Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 7:30pm. Free. John & Yuki Jazz Band Berry Island, Sydney. 12pm. Free.

MONDAY MAY 23 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Lazybones Lounge,

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THURSDAY MAY 19

Sahara Beck

Adam Young + Steph Miller + Sim Shame + Jim Mongrel The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. Don McGlashan The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $25. Sahara Beck + Wilder Lee Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $15. The Cat Empire + Pierce Brothers Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $56.17. The Pretty Littles Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.50. Wild Honey + Eden Mulholland Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free.

FRIDAY MAY 20

Castlecomer Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $17.90. Eluveitie Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $66.30. Godriguez + Bin Juice + Hunch + Matrick Jones + Borneo + Bustlip Red Rattler, Marrickville. 8pm. $10. Lurch & Chief + The Vanns Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7:30pm. $16.90. O Rappa + Mat McHugh Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point. 9pm. $79.40. Tash Sultana + Josh Cashman + Grace Pitts Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $16.50. The Maladies + Hound + Darren Cross

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

John Maddox Duo Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free. Live & Original @ The Corridor Corridor Bar, Newtown. 7pm. Free. Songsonstage feat: Russel Neal + Guests Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Greg Byrne Orient Hotel, The

The Pretty Littles + Rackett Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free. Tinpan Orange The Vanguard, Newtown. 7pm. $23.80.

SATURDAY MAY 21 Screeching Weasel Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $65. Secret Suburbs + Bleeding Gums Murphy The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

Camp Cope + Ouch My Face + Hannahband Black Wire Records, Annandale. 7pm. $12.

Marrickville. 7:30pm. $10. The Monday Jam - feat: The New Ojezz House Band + Local DJs The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $5.

Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

Tensions Arise + Segression + Not Another Sequel, Just Another Prequel + Pull No Punches Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7pm. $16.90. Tired Lion + The Hard Aches Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $25. Vera Blue Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $20.

SUNDAY MAY 22 Dallas Crane Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 2pm. $23.60. Jonny Gretsch’s Wasted Ones Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. Free. Tash Sultana + Josh Cashman Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 6:30pm. $18.70.

Rocks. 9pm. Free.

TUESDAY MAY 24 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Big Daddy Wilson Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 8pm. $33. Songsonstage - feat: Ingrid Mae + Guests Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill. 7:30pm. Free. Songsonstage - feat: Stuart Jammin + Guests Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Bandsonstage Ruby Tuesday feat: Russel Neal + Mysterious Universe

+ Guests Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. Free. Bandview Sessions feat: Wilder Lee Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. Free. Blake Tailor Zest Grill House, Rooty Hill. 4pm. Free. Bucket Lounge Presents – Live & Originals - feat: Various Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free. Lennox Lust Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Live Rock & Roll Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free. Tash Sultana + Josh Cashman Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $17.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Alma Music Presents Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $10.

BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16 :: 25

brag beats

BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin, Zanda Wilson and Amy Henderson

five things WITH

Kuren

JEREMY GLENN FROM THE UPBEATS

THE HOME STRETCH Growing Up Your Crew I grew up surrounded by We’ve been doing this 1. 3. music. Neither of my parents music thing full-time now for really played any instruments, but they both had broad tastes in music, so I was exposed to anything from Ella Fitzgerald to Björk, or Lou Reed to Coldcut. I’m definitely really appreciative now of having had such a broad base of musical influences. Dylan [Jones] and I have always found that it’s important for us creatively to draw influence from as many different and contrasting styles of music as possible. It was also through my parents that I was first exposed to DnB/jungle and then later dubstep. Inspirations 2. The first thing that comes to mind is Radiohead. Although it wasn’t until In Rainbows that I truly became a ‘fan’, I do have very strong memories of being a teen and hanging out with the gang listening to OK Computer. They’re an amazing example of a band who have evolved and stayed relevant over a long career. They would definitely be one of the most influential musicians/groups for us, although it may not be instantly apparent.

SOUND SELECT RETURNS

Aussie hip hop legend Tuka, soul-soaring rapper Sampa The Great and lyrical whiz B Wise have been announced for the next edition of Red Bull Sound Select. And you are all cordially invited. Let’s be real for a sec: Australia, and particularly Sydney, has been going through some tough

Le Fruit

around 12 years. And the crew has evolved a bit in that time. We were initially drawn into the world of music production by a good old friend Joe (DJ Sift). We were in high school, and he had just entered university, and he corrupted our young minds by introducing us to a couple of pieces of software (Acid, Cakewalk and Sound Forge). As for the crew now, in the last few years we’ve worked a lot with our good friends Noisia and Shapeshifter. While the musical aspect of collaboration is really important, it’s often more the social part that defines who we work with. The Music You Make 4. And Play We are known for making and performing drum and bass. We’ve got a bit of a signature sound, in that we like to blend the energy and production values of modern DnB, but pair that with a more organic (rock) feel. We also dabble in producing a few other styles of music. We write a lot of hip hop, instrumental beats live music times. It’s got all manner of feathers just a lil’ bit ruffled. But now, some damn fine initiatives are coming from innovators and visionaries in our music scene. Red Bull is throwing its weight behind Sound Select, a once-amonth live bonanza featuring some filthy great talent that is coming out of Oz, and the next event is Friday May 27 at the Chippendale Hotel. Register

and all sorts of other weird shit – plus the occasional surf rock tune. As far as our performances go, we play predominantly high-energy DnB, but we like to mix it up as much as possible and explore all ends of the drum and bass spectrum (while slipping in as much half-time/ beatsy stuff as we can get away with).

Wunderkind producer Kuren has released his brand new single, supported by his first-ever national tour. The youngster hailing from rural New South Wales has been given the nod of approval from Ta-ku, as well as supporting the likes of Australian powerhouse Ngaiire, after delivering his debut EP, Love Lost. Now he returns with his latest single, ‘Home’, featuring Ben Alessi – the first cut from the producer’s sophomore EP. He’ll bring the new track and more to the Ivy for the Everafter event on Sunday June 12.

Music, Right Here, 5. Right Now The scene for drum and bass is incredibly strong at the moment, especially through Europe and Australasia. We’re really fortunate to be involved in a scene that for the last 15 years has been as stable and healthy as DnB has been. We’re also very fortunate to have a strong, loyal fan base, and to have come through in a time I think when it was a bit easier to get noticed. There’s so much amazing music out there at the moment, and it’s so hard to get people’s attention these days. I definitely feel for new acts coming through and trying to break into the scene. With: Jvst Say Yes Where: Chinese Laundry When: Friday May 20

at redbullsoundselect.com for $3 entry and more special goodies.

THE VELVET CAVE RAVE The Velvet Cave Rave is coming to Sydney as part of Vivid 2016. To be hosted at a secret Inner West location, The Velvet Cave Rave (TVCR) will manifest as an all-night party

BEATS IN BONDI

Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel has announced a huge lineup for a number of gigs kicking off with Sampa The Great on Wednesday May 18. Set to play the Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid LIVE, Sampa will also headline Souseme at Beach Road Hotel with support from Samrai and Thandi Phoenix, herself fresh off supporting Rudimental on their recent Australian tour. Later in the week, the Beach Road Hotel’s Saturday May 21 night jam Yours will feature a night of choons by triple j’s Alex Dyson, who has just finished touring around the country as DJ for Groovin The Moo. Meanwhile, Richie Ryan will headline on Friday May 20 and the regular See You Sundays event is back on Sunday May 22.

outside Sydney’s lockout zone. TVCR is set to be a mash of music and mind-bending light projections and illuminated light displays. Presented by Vivid Sydney, TVCR will feature live performances from the likes of

WELCOME TO KINGS CROSS

As part of Vivid Sydney’s music program, Kings Cross Hotel will hold a huge opening party. Welcome To Kings Cross is a celebration of Sydney’s nightlife in the heart of Kings Cross, with 20 DJs across fi ve fl oors of the iconic Kings Cross Hotel. Set to feature the pulsating dance tracks of Bad Deep, the 20-year reunion of Sounds Of Seduction, the tropical beats of Le Fruit, local residents The Takeover and the disco stylings of CC:Disco!, Welcome To Kings Cross will have the venue pumping from its lower fl oor dive bar all the way up to its rooftop. It’s all happening on Saturday May 28, with tickets only available on the door.

Lucy Cliche, Miles Brown, Orion and Buzz Kull, as well as numerous DJs and light installation artists. The Velvet Cave Rave will kick into party mode on Saturday May 28 at a yet-to-be-disclosed location. Visit Eventbrite for tickets.

AN INTERNATIONAL FLAVOUR

It’ll be a United Nations of sound at Chinese Laundry this weekend as a couple of selectors bring their beats across the globe and to our doorstep. Denney, a producer and DJ from the north-east of England who arose to notoriety in 2015 with his dancefloor favourite ‘Low Frequency’, has made the long journey Down Under

Ganz

READY STEADY GAO

Dutch production star Ganz is making his way to Australian shores for Splendour In The Grass this year, and he’s just dropped a timely EP for would-be fans to get a taste of what to expect. Gao is the third release from the Hard Headed label boss, following Purple Cwtch and Dino War, and its six tracks of assertive beats are topped by collaborations with a revolving door of vocalists and MCs – among them Melbourne-based Maribelle. Ganz has previously toured with Hermitude, but he’ll step out at the top of the bill when he takes over Pacha at the Ivy on Saturday July 30 following his festival appearance. Xxx

26 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

to show us what he’s all about. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Kyle Watson, who got his childhood education in classical piano, combines lashings of house, deep house and garage into his highenergy sets. He’ll do more of the same alongside Denney this Saturday May 21.

Sampa The Great

thebrag.com

Spit Syndicate In The Know By Natalie Rogers in ourselves and our abilities than ever before.” Ten years on from releasing their first mixtape, The Future’s Bright, Lupi and his partner in crime Jimmy Nice have had their fair share of unforgettable experiences – some even providing inspiration for their lyrics. In their latest single, ‘Know Better’, Lupi quips, “Don’t do as I say, just do what you feel / Shit, I stole pizza from Bob Dylan’s fridge out in the Hollywood Hills”. Clearly not shy about their night of frozen food and a brush with a famous folk family, Lupi says he would do it again. “One night we met Pablo Dylan [Bob Dylan’s grandson] and ended up at the family compound. Stealing pizza from Bob’s fridge – that’s definitely gotta rank as one of the highlights of the last few years!” he laughs.

here’s an old saying that goes, “When you know better, you do better,” and it seems to be a concept that local hip hop duo Spit Syndicate have embraced wholeheartedly. “We’re the sharpest we’ve ever been,” smiles Nick Lupi, one half of the talented pair who met in high school. “We’re working on becoming the best performers that we can be – and we’ve got a few surprises up our sleeves too.” Speaking to the BRAG from the balcony of a recording studio in Sydney, Lupi is excited about an upcoming national tour to celebrate the release of their latest single ‘Know Better’, and he is keen to share a few insights into their latest project.

“There’s been a lot going on,” Lupi says. “We’re continuing to get better at making music, but we’ve been really busy doing stuff with our crew, One Day, and putting on these parties we call One Day Sundays. So that’s taken up a fair bit of time and energy, but it’s been a really awesome and rewarding experience. “All the while, in the background we’ve been working on a new Spit Syndicate release. We’re actually in the studio today – I’m just taking a little break. The record is almost done, to be honest. There are just a few things we need to line up which are a little bit harder to control. We’re currently between managers and between record labels, so we’re free

agents in a sense, which is quite exciting but makes trying to pinpoint exactly when the album is going to come out more difficult.” Despite his obvious uncertainty, Lupi hopes we will be hearing new Spit Syndicate sooner rather than later. “I think it would break our hearts a little bit if we don’t put it out this year, because we’ve been working really hard and the music feels very ‘now’ to us. The sound is very current and it’s a true indication of where we’re at in our lives at the moment. So we’re really hoping to get it out in the next few months, because right now I think it’s the best music we’ve ever made and we’re more confident

Another highlight that Lupi shares is a recent catch-up with mates from the One Day crew, Horrorshow, Joyride and Jackie Onassis. “It was a really nice dinner and it got quite boozy, like it can when old friends catch up – and of course it ended up with a bunch of us pretty drunk and playing demos and albums to each other. There’s so much benefit and value that can be derived from being around other creative people. We don’t share a studio anymore, but we do share an office these days.” Lupi says he spends a lot of time in that office working on promoting One Day’s wildly successful parties all around the country. In fact, the popularity of these events has afforded him a freedom that most 20-somethings only dream of. “I don’t have a day job anymore, me! Jimmy still works in childcare a little bit here and there, which is an awesome side job. About a year ago I was

able to leave my side job, which was an amazing feeling because it’s extremely difficult to earn a living in music, especially when you want to live in a city like Sydney. “So that’s been one of the cool changes,” he adds, “and I’ve expanded my horizons a little bit and become somebody that is traditionally regarded as an enemy by musicians – that’s a promoter,” he laughs. “It’s very confusing.” Lupi may be having a tough time adjusting to his new role, but he must be doing something right – tickets to their national tour are selling fast, including their one-off Sydney show as part of the Come Together festival. “We’ve got a few surprises up our sleeves for this one too, and we’re really trying to work on our performances a little bit more, rather than just worrying about where the afterparty is,” Lupi says. “Come Together is a pretty monumental event for Sydney and for the Australian hip hop circuit in general. So we really wanna make these shows as memorable and as special as possible for everyone, because they’ve given hard-earned money to come and see us – but we will still be talking shit onstage. That’s something that’s never going to change.” What: Come Together 2016 With: Drapht, Allday, Tuka, Dylan Joel and more Where: Big Top Sydney, Luna Park When: Saturday June 11 And: Nick Lupi will appear at One Day Sundays at the Factory Theatre on Sunday June 5 as part of Vivid Sydney 2016

Bradley Zero The Fire Burns On By Augustus Welby

ver two consecutive weekends during Vivid LIVE, the Sydney Opera House studio will become the Goodgod Super Club. Headlining the launch event is London DJ Bradley Zero – a former Boiler Room host, and founder of South London party night Rhythm Section and its corresponding record label, Rhythm Section International. Established in late 2011, Rhythm Section’s bimonthly club night at Canavan’s Peckham Pool Club has taken on cult status, while the label has built renown as a haven for interesting dance music. Since the outset, Zero has looked to cultivate a genuine feeling of community among partygoers, and endeavours to reflect this with the artists on the label. However, as Rhythm Section gains more popularity in London and around the globe, he’s faced with the question of how to keep it truly centred on community. “Community was always at the core of the Rhythm Section dance, and from the outside it would be fair to assume that this ethos could be a victim of its own success,” Zero says. “But I think this is only true when we define community in a very narrow sense. Yes, we began as a very geographically local and tight-knit bunch of people, and yes, this has extended across cities, countries and continents. But does this take away from the community, or add to it? I think the latter, and I would hope the visiting artists and dancers feel part of our community too.” Since day one, the Rhythm Section parties have been a relatively basic operation. Each lineup features Zero and one or two guest DJs, and the set-up consists of two decks, a rotary thebrag.com

mixer, a few crates of vinyl and a red neon light. There’s something amusingly quaint about these specifications, but such limitations also mean there’s little space for trickery. “[It was] totally circumstantial to begin with, but I quickly learnt that this very basic set-up allows for the most expression and also forces the most consideration and effort out of the DJ,” Zero says. “Take away the trickery and convenience and you’re left with the music; no smoke and mirrors. I find all these things are compensating for something – filling an empty dancefloor with smoke, lasers to emphasise a drop, and loops and playlists in place of really knowing the music. When you strip it down to its bare components, you’re left with the music, the energy and the people, and that’s what counts to me.” In the midst of running London’s most popular new dance party, Zero has managed to visit Australia a handful of times since 2013. Along the way, he’s added a number of Aussie acts to the Rhythm Section roster, including Prequel, Retiree, and most recently, Melbourne’s Silentjay and Jace XL, whose Sacrifi ce EP came out in mid-April. And that’s by no means the extent of Zero’s involvement with the Australian dance underground. “One day when I was working at Boiler Room we got a call from a guy named Tig Huggins, who, on top of being the councillor for Fitzroy and director of Two Bright Lakes, also ran a festival called Sugar Mountain. He invited us to come visit the country and we worked together to showcase a wealth of incredible local talent in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.

“By the time we had another opportunity to visit in 2014, I had a list of artists as long as my arm and I made it my duty to go meet all of them. With the help of Bad Ezzy from FBi and Tay from Pilerats in Perth, we set out to document what was going on in Australia from our perspectives as musical curators. We met everyone, from DJs, radio hosts, record labels, producers, artists, musicians, club owners, promoters and councillors. We were in the studio while Hiatus Kaiyote were recording the Choose Your Weapon album, we discussed Sydney nightlife with NLV [Nina Las Vegas] and Jimmy Sing before Casino Mike stuck his oar in, we went deep into Australiana with Andras Fox, we talked community and local issues with the man, Simon Caldwell, and this was just the tip of the iceberg.”

While Zero’s planned documentary still hasn’t seen the light of day, the experience of its creation left him with several unbreakable links to the Australian music community. “I made some great friends and got straight to the juice, no small talk. By this time I was attached to the country, its spirit and so many of the people within it. I’d also discovered a whole new world of music coming from what I believe is one of the strongest, vibrant and most interconnected scenes in the world. By this time it wasn’t about becoming a part of it. I was a part of it, and it is a part of my story.” The aforementioned Sing is one of the brains behind the Goodgod enterprise, which explains Zero’s willingness to come down and kick off the Super Club series.

“That very first trip to Australia took in a most important stop at Goodgod,” he says. “It was clear Sydney had a real good thing going when I first visited, and it’s been really troubling to see so many institutions suffer from these unjust and completely corrupt licensing laws. As my last two trips to Sydney have proved, the fire won’t be put out, but we have to come together to keep it burning as brightly as possible.” What: Goodgod Super Club as part of Vivid LIVE 2016 With: Simon Caldwell Where: Studio, Sydney Opera House When: Friday May 27 And: Goodgod Super Club continues on Saturday May 28, Friday June 3 and Saturday June 4

BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16 :: 27

club guide g

club picks p up all night out all week...

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club pick of the week Pepperpot

SUNDAY MAY 22

Home Nightclub

S.A.S.H By Night Pepperpot 9pm. $15 WEDNESDAY MAY 18 HIP HOP & R&B

PM Kanza + Lowkey Austin + Jayo + Don Don Play Bar, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free. Sosueme - feat: Sampa The Great + Thandi Phoenix + Samrai Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS Birdcage - feat: Various DJs Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. Free. Salsa Wednesdays - feat: DJ Miro + Special Guests The Argyle, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free. SBW - feat: Jonski Babysham + Resident DJs Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.

THURSDAY MAY 19 Gerard Walker + Bushy MC + Cydaphex + DJ Rtis Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

xxx

CLUB NIGHTS Femme Fetale

FRIDAY MAY 20 HIP HOP & R&B

Jack The House 3 (Jack To The Future) - feat: Kate Monroe + Mark Dynamix + Maynard + Ll Ebay Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $15. The Meeting Tree Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $16.90.

CLUB NIGHTS

Acid Tannins Dance - feat: Mike Who + Anno Cake Wines Cellar Door, Redfern. 5pm. Free. Against The Grain - feat: Bass To Pain Converter + Daheen + Matrix + Professor Purn + Zigmon Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 9pm. $18.90. Argyle Fridays The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free. Bassic - feat: The Upbeats + Jvst Say Yes + Ellagator +

28 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

Bionic + The Bassix + Propaganda + Heirs To The Throne + Sqeef + Akela Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90. Ben Morris Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free. Dorcelsius + Bura Bura + Enderie Nuatal + Wdk Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free. Feel Good Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. Free. Fourth Quadrant Presents - feat: Farj & Paul Frazer + Foreigndub + Gonzo + Vision + LSDJ + Cappa + Aggravator Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. Free. Friday Frothers feat: DJ Babysham + Guests Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Friday Party Syd feat: Richie Ryan Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free. Fridays At Zeta Zeta Bar, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Harbour Club Fridays The Watershed Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. Free. Jack The House 3 (Jack To The Future) - Feat: Kate Monroe + Mark Dynamix + Maynard + LL eBay Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $15. Jam Fridays Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9:30pm. Free.

L.A.M Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $13.70. Loco Friday - feat: DJs On Rotation The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. Free. No Rest For The Wicked - feat: She + Action Ant + Xersotrkitte Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Prescription - feat: DJ Kizito Marley + DJ Fasmwa + Deejay Koolbreeze Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 11pm. $11.50. Scubar Fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. The Meeting Tree Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $16.90. Welove - feat: Various DJs Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. Free.

SATURDAY MAY 21 HIP HOP & R&B

Katcha Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 9:30pm. Free. New Jack Swing feat: Shan Frenzie + DJ Adverse + DJ Mk-1 + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS Argyle Saturdays feat: Tass + Tap-Tap + Minx + Crazy Caz

SUNDAY MAY 22 CLUB NIGHTS Picnic Social Tatler, Darlinghurst. 4pm. Free. S.A.S.H By Day - feat: Gabby + Scott Callaghan +

WEDNESDAY MAY 18

Foxlife - Feat: Rodean + Adam Carter + Mesan Slyfox, Enmore. 10pm. $10.

Sosueme - Feat: Sampa The Great + Thandi Phoenix + Samrai Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

Jack J + Kali + Adi Toohey + Valerie Yum Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $27.50.

FRIDAY MAY 20 Against The Grain - Feat: Bass To Pain Converter + Daheen + Matrix + Professor Purn + Zigmon Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 9pm. $18.90. Bassic - Feat: The Upbeats + Jvst Say Yes + Ellagator + Bionic + The Bassix + Propaganda + Heirs To The Throne + Sqeef + Akela Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90. Jack The House 3 (Jack To The Future) - Feat: Kate Monroe + Mark Dynamix + Maynard + LL eBay Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $15. L.A.M Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $13.70. The Meeting Tree Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $16.90.

SATURDAY MAY 21 C.U Saturday - Feat: Eric Volta + Amahain + Jac Frier + Kaiser Waldon + Alex Ludlow + Philip Kanis Civic Underground, Sydney. 9pm. $22. Mashd N Kutcher

Cameron Cooper + Matt Weir Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 2pm. $15. S.A.S.H By Night - feat: Pepperpot + Dave Stuart + U-Khan + Karim + Chien D’Ours + Alec Sander + Kerry Wallace + Secret Guests Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 9pm. $15. See You Sundays Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 12pm. Free. Sin Sundays The Argyle, The Rocks. 7pm. Free. Untitled001 - feat: Moof De Vah + Crazy Baby Boogie

Lndry - Feat: Denney + Kyle Watson + Persian Rug + Lachie Simpson + Tyson Bruun + Black & Blunt + Ludovic + Taaka + Blackjack + DJ Eko + DJ Just 1 + King Lee Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90. Paces Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $17.90. Pacha - Feat: Mashd N Kutcher Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38. Sam Binga + Capro + Monako + Boot + Sook + Malo Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $22.70. Something Else - Feat: Tiger Stripes + Simon Caldwell + Whitecat + James Petrou + Lawrence Daffurn + Mick Antonievich + Tom Studdy Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $11.

SUNDAY MAY 22 Picnic Social Tatler, Darlinghurst. 4pm. Free. S.A.S.H By Day - Feat: Gabby + Scott Callaghan + Cameron Cooper + Matt Weir Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 2pm. $15.

Bananas + Banja + Brain Zaps + Scandalgate Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 5pm. $10. Winter Sessions feat: Murray Lake + Aden Mullens + Yolanda Be Cool + Brenny B-Sides Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 3pm. Free.

MONDAY MAY 23 CLUB NIGHTS I Love Mondays Side Bar, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

TUESDAY MAY 24 HIP HOP & R&B

Tinashe Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $69.90.

CLUB NIGHTS

Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10. Side Bar Tuesdays feat: Black Diamond Hearts Side Bar, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Terrible Tuesdays Slyfox, Enmore. 5pm. Free.

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Pepperpot photo by Ivanna Oksenyuk

HIP HOP & R&B

The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free. House Keeping - feat: DJ Conor Boylan + Guests Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. The Goods - feat: Guest DJ Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Toho Nights - feat: Jay Katz + Special Guests Goros, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free.

The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free. C.U Saturday - feat: Eric Volta + Amahain + Jac Frier + Kaiser Waldon + Alex Ludlow + Philip Kanis Civic Underground, Sydney. 9pm. $22. Clique Sydney Cruise Bar, Sydney. 8:30pm. $20. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free. Foreigndub DJs Golden Age Cinema, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free. Foxlife - feat: Rodean + Adam Carter + Mesan Slyfox, Enmore. 10pm. $10. Frat Saturdays - feat: Danny Simms + Jayowens Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Graham M Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 6pm. Free. Grant Smillie Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $26.70. Jack J + Kali + Adi Toohey + Valerie Yum Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $27.50. Lndry - feat: Denney + Kyle Watson + Persian Rug + Lachie Simpson + Tyson Bruun + Black & Blunt + Ludovic + Taaka + Blackjack + DJ Eko + DJ Just 1 + King Lee Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90. My Place Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Bar100, The Rocks. 8pm. Free. Paces Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $17.90. Pacha - feat: Mashd N Kutcher Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38. Sam Binga + Capro + Monako + Boot + Sook + Malo Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $22.70. Scubar Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8:30pm. Free. Soda Saturdays Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Something Else feat: Tiger Stripes + Simon Caldwell + Whitecat + James Petrou + Lawrence Daffurn + Mick Antonievich + Tom Studdy Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $11. White Horse Resident DJs - feat: Daisy The White Horse, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free. Yours - feat: Alex Dyson Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 6pm. Free.

KATE MONROE MARK DYNAMIX MADD MAYNARD + CLUB LL EBAY

SAT 21 MAY

FEATURING THE LATE PAUL HOLDEN MEGAMIX REPLAY A TRIBE CALLED QUEST VIDEO TRIBUTE

SPECIAL GUESTS

RODEAN ADAM CARTER

SILENT DISCO @ 3AM w/ NATHAN MAC TONY CALARCO

FRIDAY 20TH MAY

RESIDENT

MESAN

9PM - 6AM

$15 / $20 after 1am SLY FOX HOTEL - 199 Enmore Rd, Enmore

Our resident scientists join Sydney queen bee Kate Monroe in powering up the DeLorean and navigating us back to 1988 for another round of Hip House, Chicago House, Acid House, Balearic and Classic Hip Hop. And from a time and place that no-one’s quite sure of, DJ Maynard will bring along his Madd Club sideshow to ensure plenty of mayhem throughout the night. WEBSITE & TICKETS: WWW.JACKTHEHOUSE.COM.AU - SET TIMES AT: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/JACKTHEHOUSE FREE EXCLUSIVE MARK DYNAMIX JACK THE HOUSE 3 CD FOR FIRST 50 EARLY BIRD TICKET HOLDERS.

1 0 P M T I L L L AT E

$10 BEFORE 12AM / $15 AFTER 1 9 9 E N M O R E R O A D W W W . S LY F O X . S Y D N E Y

In memory of Paul Holden. 1964 - 2016

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BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16 :: 29

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Off The Record

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

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up all night out all week . . .

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray

Matthias Meyer

Cesar Merveille

f you fancy living out an Ibiza summer in a Sydney winter, this is about as close as you’re gonna get. A regular at the infamous Vagabundos, German DJ Cesar Merveille has carved a name for himself in the most illustrious of tech house circles, with release on the likes of Visionquest, Cadenza Records, Modelmaker and Multi Vitamins. He’s coming to serve up a typically wonky techno feast alongside MSG, Ben Nott, Mark Craven, Tech No More and Persian Rug on Saturday June 4 at the Burdekin Hotel. Sydney’s newest party purveyor – Moontanned Entertainment – is kicking off with a bang featuring Matthias Meyer. Best known for his work at Watergate (the Berlin club, not the Richard Nixon thing), the German is renowned for his productions ranging from rolling techno, murky house and grinding minimal, finding homes on Cityfox, Do Easy Records, Soulfooled and of course, Watergate Records. He most recently delivered the 20th edition of the Watergate mix series, so give that a spin before you get down on Friday July 1 at Slyfox. Fatima Al Qadiri has announced her debut tour of Australia, taking place next month. Having first risen to prominence in 2014 with release of her record Asiatisch, the Kuwait-raised and US-based artist followed it up earlier this year with album Brute, cementing her spot as a staple of Fatima Al Qadiri

Let’s be real: there are two types of dubstep. The forward-thinking wonky UK garage-influenced sound that rose in the early ’00s, and the bullshit WUBwubWUBwubWUB ear torture that dickheads like Borgore and such put out. The Bristol-based veteran producer and DJ Rob Ellis AKA Pinch is a man who adheres strictly to former, and through his work running the Tectonic Recordings imprint he’s been at the forefront of the genre with his penchant for crafting otherworldly tempos and textures. Catch him alongside Cliques, U-Khan, John Glover, Letabruthaknow, Strafe and Dread Jensen on Saturday June 18 at the Burdekin Hotel. No lads allowed.

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PICS :: AM

the famed Hyperdub family. She actually made a vow not to tour this year to instead focus on creating new music, so this announcement comes as a bit of a surprise. Expect things to get grimy on Saturday June 11 at Oxford Art Factory.

09:05:16 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666

Tour rumour: tell you what, it sure has been a while since we’ve seen a visit from Richie Hawtin, hasn’t it? (Wink wink.) Best releases this week: after giving a few seriously solid listens to DJ Koze’s Pampa Records Vol. 1 compilation, I’m hooked – with it featuring cuts from the likes of Roman Flügel, Funkstörung and Nasrawi. Other records that haven’t been leaving my headphones include Mihai Popescu’s Cause Of Being (on Soulsity), Barac’s Rawax Aira Series Vol. 4 (Rawax), M.Rav’s Common Purpose (L.I.E.S.), Stenny’s Consume IV (Ilian Tape), Limpid’s Shine (Metereze), Irazu’s Tolerance For The Absurd (Soul Notes) and Sepp’s Timpuriu (UVAR).

RECOMMENDED SATURDAY MAY 21

Tiger Stripes Burdekin Hotel Sam Binga Plan B Small Club Jack J Jam Gallery

FRIDAY MAY 27

Cesar Merveille Burdekin Hotel

FRIDAY JUNE 10

Louisahhh Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY JUNE 11

Andhim Chinese Laundry

Fatima Al Qadiri Locked Groove Oxford Art Factory Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY MAY 28

Detroit Swindle Chinese Laundry

SUNDAY JUNE 12

Digitalism Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY JUNE 18

Andrey Pinch Pushkarev Civic Underground Burdekin Hotel

SUNDAY MAY 29

Boris Cruise Bar

SATURDAY JUNE 25

DJ Pierre Civic Underground

JULY 1 SATURDAY JUNE 4 FRIDAY Matthias Meyer

Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos? Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon. 30 :: BRAG :: 663 :: 18:05:16

s.a.s.h by day

PICS :: AM

Slyfox

xxxx

Weiss Chinese Laundry

15:05:16 :: Greenwood Hotel :: 36 Blue Street North Sydney 9964 9477 thebrag.com

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ANNANDALE 55 Parramatta Rd 9517 1901 www.gallinsmps.com.au

UNTIL SO LD OUT! !

The RRP is the recommended retail price as set by the Australian distributor of the product. While stocks last. Products pictured are for illustration purpose only.

BRAG - Gallins - MMS May 2016 - 275 x 385.indd 1

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