Inner Circle Magazine April 2017 Issue 2

ISSUE 02 / APRIL 2017 / FREE

ARTS / COMMUNITY / FASHION / FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC

ALSO FEATURING • A BUNCH OF DRUNKEN

KNITWITS • THE EDGELEYBABES • THE MERRI TABLE • STEPPING INSIDE THE TOTE

THIS IS MELBOURNE’S INNER NORTH

ABBOTSFORD / BRUNSWICK / CARLTON / COLLINGWOOD / FITZROY NORTHCOTE / NORTH MELBOURNE / PARKVILLE

EDITOR’S LETTER March was a truly stellar month in the inner north, with the early autumn sunshine pleasantly offering us the opportunity to truly enjoy a host of offerings that once again reminded us of how lucky we are to live in this fantastic pocket of Melbourne. Major events such as the Brunswick Music Festival and the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival brought glitz, glamour, entertainment and celebration to our region, while grassroots community events, such as PeaceMeals and the Bridges to Harmony Festival, reinforced the genuine togetherness and diversity that we enjoy in the local area.

In this issue of Inner Circle Magazine, we have thoroughly enjoyed delving into some of the alternative happenings, projects and events in the region, giving us a fascinating snapshot of the wonderful smorgasbord of interests, passions and places that thrive in the inner north. From drunk knitting meet-ups, to the search for alternative forms of life in the universe, to an exploration of legendary Collingwood venue The Tote and more, we hope you enjoy our latest exploration of local culture.

On a personal note, I have been genuinely overwhelmed by the positive response to the inaugural issue of Inner Circle Magazine in print - we have been inundated with messages of thanks and congratulations, and have been given a clear indication that the people of the inner north are excited to see this community resource coming to life, and are eager to learn more about the best of our region. The truth is, we are only here to tell some of the local stories, and without you - the people of the inner north - there would be nothing to tell and nothing to celebrate, so thank you!

We certainly hope you enjoy reading enjoy this month’s edition just as much as we have enjoyed creating it. Here’s to a fantastic and happy April!

James Fox - Editor & Co-Founder, Inner Circle Magazine

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners of the Land: “We, at Inner Circle Magazine, would like to acknowledge that the land we meet on is the traditional lands for the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations, and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their country. We would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the custodians of the Melbourne region, including Melbourne’s inner north, and recognise that their culture and heritage is still important to the Wurundjeri people today.

We wish to pay respect to their Elders, both past and present, and further acknowledge the important role that Indigenous people continue to play within our communities.”

contact@innercirclemagazine.com.au

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Editor & Co-Founder - James Fox Head Designer & Co-Founder - Declan Hooper We would not have been able to create Inner Circle Magazine without the hard work and dedication of all involved. Thank you!

Editorial Assistant: Eleanor van Driel Design Assistant/Illustrator: Nicola Hooper Consultant: David Hooper Print Columnists: Katelyn Sangalli, Nathan Senn, Tobias Handke, Quincy Malesovas, Pamela Kirkley, Simon Wraight, Estelle Artois Photography: Jess Middleton, Adele Cochrane, Timothy Treasure (Cover Image), Jean Baulch Online Columnists and Contributors in March: Kathryn Lewis, Nina McQueen, Peter Matthews, Jack Davison, Special thanks to: Prudence Rees-Lee (Boundaries of Life), Alice Edgeley (Edgeley), Sally (The Merri Table), Melissa Lawson (The Merri Table) Rich Stanley (The Tote) Special thanks also reserved for all our advertising partners.

Publisher: Inner Circle Magazine - innercirclemagazine.com.au To contribute, head to: innercirclemagazine.com.au/about/contribute/ For advertising enquiries, contact: James Fox - james@innercirclemagazine.com.au Declan Hooper - declan@innercirclemagazine.com.au

Printed by Ellikon on PEFCTM certified laser paper made from 30% recycled waste and using vegetable inks. This document has been produced to international standard ISO14001 bystandard a certified greenbyprinting using recycled paper.

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CONTENTS

ARTS ROUND-UP & PREVIEW BOUNDARIES OF LIFE

COMMUNITY ROUND-UP & PREVIEW DRUNKEN KNITWITS

FASHION ROUND-UP & PREVIEW THE EDGELEYBABES

FOOD & DRINK AUTUMN COCKTAILS THE MERRI TABLE

MUSIC ROUND-UP & PREVIEW STEPPING INSIDE THE TOTE

Issue 02 • April

Inner Circle Magazine • Arts

ARTS IN THE INNER NORTH ROUND-UP & PREVIEW Written by Nathan Senn Melbourne’s inner north was again teeming with an array of arts events this March. North Melbourne’s Meat Market saw the debut of Nat Cursio’s Tiny Slopes, an enthralling mix of dance and performance art in which accomplished dancers attempted to learn to skateboard on stage for the very first time. Tiny Slopes explored Cursio’s enduring interest in vulnerability, resilience and the human capacity to adapt.

show at Brunswick’s Howler Bar. Looking forward to April, Fitzroy’s Centre for Contemporary Photography will see Beijing-based photographer Chen Wei’s first public exhibition in Australia.

Curated by Elias Redstone, Wei’s The Club features a series of meticulously composed photographs and installations that present a reconstructed visual archive of China’s ever evolving youth club culture.

At Collingwood’s Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Julian Di Martino presented Objects Ought Not to Touch, a captivating collection constructed from found wooden materials to form over 50 graphic and peculiar assemblages, wallworks and freestanding sculptures. Described as “a sonic literary genius,” slam poet and freestyle extraordinaire Luka Lesson also laid down some of the spitfire rhymes for which he is reputed in a special one-off

For those looking for a laugh, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival rolls on into April, with events such as Trades Hall Comedy in Carlton hosting an array of comedic talent to have your diaries full for the duration. To find out more jump online and head to comedyfestival. com.au.

On the 18th and 19th, the Palace Westgarth will screen Daniel Kitson’s It’s

Always Right Now, Until It’s Later, a real time experimental stand-up/performance hybrid that explores the intersection between comedy and art. Running until April 9th is award winning theatre artist Emma Mary Hall’s Ode to Man, a poignant, funny and dark performance essay on the foibles of modern man.

Also not to be missed, Melbourne’s own acerbic and quick-witted Emil Freund will present his show Emil For One at Carlton’s Clyde Hotel until the 23rd.

The Spanish Film Festival lights up the Westgarth from the 20th of April until the 7th of May, showcasing the year’s best in Latin cinema. The program’s highlight is documentary Bosch, The Garden of Dreams, offering an insight into the lasting significance of Dutch Master Hieronymus Bosch’s most famous painting. The Fury of a Patient Man is also worth the price of admission.

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BOUNDARIES OF LIFE

EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LIFE FORMS THROUGH CREATIVE MEDIUMS Written by Quincy Malesovas Photography by Adele Cochrane While Melbourne has unfailingly been a creative capital of the world for decades, it has only been in more recent years that it has gained notoriety as a tech hub. Time can only tell when it will join the likes of San Francisco and Berlin as an innovator’s paradise.

What we are seeing now, as creative and technological outputs compete and co-mingle in this city, is a growing population of artists who choose to marry the two. People who embrace rather than shun technological and biological sciences. People who show that the stratification between art and science is not as large as we might like to believe -

in fact, the fields can coexist in harmony and support growth in one another.

Prudence Rees-Lee, an Australian artist who splits her time between Melbourne and Los Angeles, is one to look towards as an example of someone straddling the space between the sometimes-sterile world of hard science and the seemingly limitless landscape of Melbourne’s creative arts scene.

Most recently, she explored this concept while undergoing an artist residency at Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) - a not-for-profit sound production workshop dedicated to electronic content,

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based in North Melbourne. While there, her primary focal point was exploring the possibility of alternative life forms through creative mediums. She has collaborated with several U.S.-based universities to continue this exploration, through a long-term project titled Boundaries of Life.

Despite Prudence’s ever-hectic schedule of shuttling between continents and participating in residencies, she set aside some time to answer a few questions for us about the project, her involvement with MESS and why she believes science and art are two forces that are more powerful when combined.

Prudence was first called to L.A. to collaborate with Four Larks theatre company. They were undertaking a residency at the Getty Villa in Malibu at the time, which she describes as a magical introduction to the city.

According to Prudence, the creative climate of L.A. is quite different to that in Melbourne - one she has experienced as wild, experimental and a bit antiestablishment. It’s hard to say whether Prudence’s innovative nature has been stoked by her move or if she was drawn across the globe as a reaction to this trait; regardless, her love for exploration is evident in everything she’s done thus far.

“The quality of Melbourne’s creative output is extremely high and concentrated,” says Prudence. “American

audiences are more excited, Melbourne audiences are more discerning.”

Prudence’s own relationship with Australian arts may have sparked this theory. She studied cello at university, where classical, orchestral and chamber music was prioritised and discern was the name of the game. That being said, she did supplement her technical projects with experimental and “contemporary classical” sounds that some would consider avant garde.

“After that, I kind of slipped out of the classical world and went to a lot of gigs in Melbourne,” Prudence told us. From there, her musical taste, as both a maker and consumer, began to shift again, and slowly leaked into her work. It manifested as a synth band called Hammocks and Honey, formed by Prudence and a friend.

“Working with synths means manipulating voltages and electricity,” Prudence says.

“There’s something very primal and magical about that. It feels as though you are conjuring sound from the natural elements.”

During her residency at MESS, Prudence spent a week or so learning about the instruments they have available and exploring them, “without any pressure to ‘make something’ or produce any result.”

She classified this as nothing but pure luxury and a unique chance to learn. During the second half of her residency, she began to work on a soundtrack for a documentary about the search for alternative life forms. She quickly made the connection between this research and processes in modular synthesis, and the two have been coexisting forces in her work ever since.

“Modular synths [in particular some of

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the larger systems they have at MESS, like the Moog 55 and Buchla 200e] seem to have an inherent life and character of their own. [Working with them] feels as though you are collaborating with someone or something that has an active role in the process.”

“To me, creating a complex modular patch is like setting up parameters for an ecosystem. Then there are all these possibilities for you to discover as you interact with that system. It’s wild!”

Prudence’s residency at MESS was surely unique, although each artist’s experience is different. There can be many different things involved in a residency, depending on the artist, their subject matter and the place of residency. Prudence said the process can involve pretty much anything, from solo research and development to community engagement to, of course, creating new works of art.

“I think one of the biggest advantages of a residency is having concentrated time away from regular life to focus on your practice.”

Prudence has also found that the people she’s met during residencies have been as interesting to her as the work she’s done. Although she was in L.A.

when MESS opened, she was struck by how lovely and inspiring everyone who she met through the studio was.

She was so excited about the program that, on her next trip back to Melbourne, she approached the studio about a collaboration. Next thing she knew, she was in residency. MESS is planning to offer a more formal residency program within the next year.

Prudence’s big project at the moment,

The three main questions they are looking at are; what parameters and bounds of life exist, whether life has originated more than once, and how likely is life to exist elsewhere in the universe.

“This potential life is called ‘shadow life’, and the hypothesis is that it could have evolved alongside life as we know it, but gone unnoticed as we have never thought to look for it.”

So far, music, movement, games,

“AMERICAN AUDIENCES ARE MORE EXCITED, MELBOURNE AUDIENCES ARE MORE DISCERNING.” Boundaries of Life, is “a multi-year, multiinstitute collaborative effort aimed at identifying diverse and novel forms of life, some of which might exhibit properties outside our current definition of biology.”

The project brings together scientists from Caltech, Stanford, Global Viral and NASA. Prudence runs an experimental studio in L.A., called Schema47, that is currently working with Boundaries of Life to develop creative and artistic responses to their research.

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visual art and a curated series of events have been developed in response to this research. Prudence is also putting together a short documentary which will include snippets of interviews with scientists involved with the project.

Prudence’s hope is that by engaging with artists, scientists are inspired to think differently about their own processes and research.

The yoga experience in Brunswick ~ 55 Edward Street ~ themovingroom.com.au

The Room that Moves You Written by Pamela Kirkley

The Moving Room is a Brunswick yoga studio with humble beginnings. Starting out as possibly Melbourne’s tiniest yoga studio in 2014, the business quickly built a positive reputation and enough momentum for Trudy, its owner, to be able to relocate to a larger studio at 55 Edward Street.

Trudy’s passion for yoga comes from her love of movement and dance, she has had a career in contemporary dance, holds a masters in Choreography and has been practicing yoga for an admirable 25 years.

Trudy teaches all the vinyasa classes on the schedule, with her signature style Moving Flow. Vinyasa yoga is a dynamic style of yoga linking breath with movement through creative sequencing. Each class has

a limit of 15 mats so everyone who moves in the room can receive the attention, adjustments and guidance they need.

Classes begin at foundation progressing to more advanced, encouraging students to develop at their own pace. On a Sunday there is a restorative and deeply relaxing yin class with Teya Dellar who specialises in the yin style of yoga. There is also the popular Pravana Waves - a live music and yoga event with musician Simon Lewis from Amanaska. Together Trudy and Simon have created an immersive yoga experience with sound and projections.

The studio is proud of its diverse local membership and welcomes individuals of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

The studio lives and breathes the soul

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of Brunswick, everything has been locally sourced from independent artists, designers and businesses. The studio has really embraced its community and this seems to have been reciprocated. Moving room regulars describe the studio as becoming their “yoga home”, always a “100% care for everyone in the class”, and “always challenging in the very best way”, “I look forward to returning again and again”.

The studio has an incredible introductory offer of just $35 for an unlimited two weeks of classes. So come and meet yourself on a mat and begin your yoga story at The Moving Room. You’re all invited.

Issue 02 • April

Inner Circle Magazine • Community

COMMUNITY IN THE INNER NORTH ROUND-UP & PREVIEW

Written by Quincy Malesovas

The start of March saw the local and wider community working together to make our neighbourhoods cleaner and greener, with Clean Up Australia Day, a rubbish-removal effort held on 4th March, that (hopefully) resulted in a few less glass bottles strewn across Melbourne’s landscape.

But picking up trash is not the only way to maintain your environmentally-conscious bent. Opting for “previously-loved” versus new fashion is an easy way to lessen your impact on the earth, so on 18th March, The Old Bar in Fitzroy helped facilitate this with their Clothes Swap, all based around trading, bartering and donating.

March was Australian Women’s History Month, which inspired several femalefocused community events like the Women’s Rights at Work Festival on 8th March, which

coincided with International Women’s Day and strove to support female-identifying people in the workplace.

On Friday 24th March we enjoyed the Bridges to Harmony Festival in Fitzroy.

The event was part of Cultural Diversity Week and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and featured a great selection music, food, face painting and mural painting.

April has many more community events in store, including The Ball Room, running from 8th - 12th April, presented

by Darebin Arts Loud Mouth. The interactive affair welcomes participants of all ages to explore their innate curiosities through experimental performance.

on 20th April. This Collingwood-based feast gathers Australians, both new and acclimatised, to break down racial stereotypes, encourage tolerance and foster cultural exchange through food, art and music.

If you’re intrigued by the dark and sometimes wacky world of cults, you might want to stop by Readings in Carlton for the Launch of Which Cult Should I Join? on 26th April, a ‘guidebook’ on cults and the persuasion they hold.

Even more niche is the Supanova Pop Culture Expo, running from the 28th -30th April, where you can indulge your obsession for games, programming, performance and costume of all varieties.

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I joined them one day out of the blue after discovering the group on Meetup.com. A short while later, I came across two giant bags out on my curb, brimming with knitting supplies and free for any lucky passer-by to take.

A Bunch of Drunken Knitwits Written by Quincy Malesovas Photography by Jess Middleton Believe it or not, knitting is used in some drug and alcohol abuse programs to aid in recovery. It’s thought to be a helpful tool in encouraging sobriety, along with other healthy activities like crosswords, yoga and painting.

Now, if you can imagine the exact opposite of this, you’ll have Drunken Knitwits - a local community of folks hitting up all of Melbourne’s best pubs to drink and do some needlework.

Rather than shun substances, they enthusiastically partake - at least in those of the legal variety. It may not seem like an obvious pairing, but beer and yarn go together like peanut butter and sriracha. A little sweet, a little crazy, and addictive after a few tries.

While knitting is the name of the game, crochet and cross-stitch are also

accepted activities in the Knitwit clan.

As long as you bring a few needles and a thirst for booze, you’re in.

The next most obvious question is ‘how does inebriation affect the steadiness of one’s hands?’ My answer is this: plenty of people do hands-on activities (shredding on the guitar, having crazy sex, cooking) while drunk. And plenty of the plenty do these things well. Although those who don’t are mighty good entertainment for the rest. Which is totally acceptable at drunken knitwits, because no one is taking themselves too seriously. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or have been spinning yarns for years.

We all have to start somewhere, and the leaders of the drunk knitting crew know this to be true.

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My neighbourhood is pretty amazing with what it has gifted me since living here, but this find took the cake.

Yarn and needles are damn expensive.

I took this as a sign from the gods that I had to pick up this new hobby, which suits my ‘old lady at heart’ nature quite well. But, as it turns out, Drunken Knitwits did defy my stereotypes of what it means to be a yarn-loving lass.

The crowd at my first Meetup was

Inner Circle Magazine • Community

youthful, exuberant, witty and globally conscious. They came from all over the world, had various career and personal backgrounds, yet were brought together by their mutual love of drinking and weaving. They were more than willing to help me get started - I didn’t even know how to cast on before my first meeting with them.

By the end, I was stitching sloppy patterns and wondering how many years it would take me until I finished my first pot-holder.

In other words, I was hooked.

Little did I know Melbourne wasn’t the first to discover the novelty that is drunken knitting. There are also groups in the US and UK that pull crowds at every get-together. But what we do offer up here is an amazing selection of drinking establishments to host each group, as well as witty (or should I say knitty?) titles for each week’s session.

Take, for instance, My WIPs Don’t Lie at Barton Fink in Thornbury, Knit on My Face at the Wolf’s Lair in Carlton, Purls Just Wanna Have Fun at the Wesley

Anne in Northcote and Where My Stitches At? at The Alehouse Project in Brunswick East.

And these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Each week brings more great puns and more amazing brews.

Drunken Knitwits is free to drop in on, although they ask that members who have attended 4 or more sessions give a

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$10 donation to keep the Meetup page running. Although you do see different faces from week to week, there are a few regulars who maintain the core of the crew.

You can keep up with Drunken Knitwits on their Meetup.com page, or catch them in person at their one-year anniversary on May 4th.

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Issue 02 • April

Inner Circle Magazine • Fashion

FASHION IN THE INNER NORTH ROUND-UP & PREVIEW

Written by Katelyn Sangalli & James Fox

As summer made way for Autumn, March saw the fashion world step up to showcase the big trends of the new season.

Melbourne’s inner north was of course at the forefront of happenings, hosting one of the biggest fashion showcases of all in Australia, the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Running from March 1st - 19th, with a variety of shows throughout the region, the Festival saw an abundance of international, national and local designers showcasing their works to an eager and receptive audience of industry professionals, influencers and members of the public.

The star of the show was of course the Gala Runway held at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, while local designers such as Alice Edgeley were provided the opportunity to showcase their talents at

smaller runways such as Pleats x 3 (see page 16).

March was a busy month for Edgeley, with the Gertrude St. designer also launching a range of ‘Aussie Slang Slogan’ tees in collaboration with Tanzer.

Elsewhere, one of our favourite local illustrators Jennifer Darr launched her online store (we are lusting after the Gucci Jacket), while local lingerie label Silent Arrow launched with their RadGirl runway. Celebrating women from different walks of life, the label promotes strong, sexy and confident women.

April is set to be an equally busy month in the fashion world of the inner north. Cult perfumery Le Lebo are all set to open the doors at their first Australian stand-alone

store on Gertrude St. in Fitzroy. With A-listers singing their praises, step inside at your earliest opportunity to find your signature scent amongst an array of soulful fragrances.

Inner Circle favourites Fairy Floss, who specialise in unique creations with a tribal influence, will be launching their Autumn/ Winter collection - expect a continuation of their subtle Viking style with some exciting new editions for the colder months, including leather gear, jackets, leg warmers and more.

This April, as the new season sets in, we suggest you go exploring the high streets and backstreets of our local neighbourhood to get your your hands on what’s hot this Autumn/Winter and to support our local fashion designers and retailers.

Issue 02 • April

THE EDGELEYBABES A CELEBRATION OF ALL THINGS FEMININE Written by Katelyn Sangalli Photography by Timothy Treasure

Melbourne’s ecosystem of fashion is one that can’t be replicated with ease.

From the crew socks and adidas slides seen on Brunswick St., to the culottes and Dr Marten lace up’s seen on Lygon St., no two outfits are ever quite the same. The mix of high end to street wear translates from consumer to designer.

Specialty Pleaters was founded in the 1930’s in a family home in Fitzroy, and has now operated through three generations. It is the last pleater left in

Victoria, and supports clients across a multitude of sizes and platforms. In an effort to highlight the heavily declined pleating craft, independent Melbourne designers Kara Baker, Nevada Duffy and Alice Edgeley recently came together to feature Pleats x 3 at the Alcaston Gallery in Fitzroy. Part of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, this runway was an opportunity for the designers to present a capsule collection of their Autumn/ Winter 2017 designs, in which they looked to the Speciality Pleaters archives to

inspire their respective capsule collections.

Alice Edgeley begun her career as an apprentice costumier, and later worked with Christopher Kane as his head seamstress. Now, for Edgeley, her work is more than just designing a range of clothes. It is about an appreciation of the feminine form, a celebration of all things feminine, and a nod to the feminist movement, sprinkled with a generous dose of cool girl edge. This can’t be encompassed in one adjective, but for Edgeley they

Inner Circle Magazine • Fashion

“[The ‘Edgeleybabes’] are not afraid to express themselves. They have a sense of playful confidence in their bodies and their own style, and none of them are slaves to fashion.”

are best defined as her “Edgeleybabes.”

With five looks showcased across five models, Edgeley featured women of all shapes, sizes and ages at the Pleats x 3 runway. The inspiration from the Specialty Pleaters archives could be seen with one of the highlights of the evening being a pink sequin catsuit with organza pleated cape. The glamour and movement of the cape looked as though it slipped from the shoulders of Grace Kelly in High Society.

The featured golden midi pleated skirt was another throwback to the 1940’s.

This nod to the 1940’s silhouettes can be seen in Edgeley’s ready to wear collection.

For Edgeley, who now puts out two collections a year, the hardwork and dedication has paid off, and she is providing a service that not all designers can say they offer. “[I] provide a custom made service for special clients who need more glamorous items for events or stage wear.”

It is this attitude, that no one is a slave to fashion, that defines the fashion set of the inner north and that enables the expressive freedom we see and enjoy today. In turn this is paving the way for the next generation of local designers. But it is not easy, and Edgeley has some advice for young designers: “Keep at it! It’s a really tough industry but other designers can be really supportive.

Support each other. Designing is probably 2% of the process the other 98% is getting it done. Keep working at developing your own aesthetic and challenge yourself!”

You can see more of Edgeley’s work at 220 Gertude St in Fitzroy, Tuesday – Saturday or online at edgeley.com.au.

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Issue 02 • April

Inner Circle Magazine • Food & Drink

AUTUMN COCKTAILS Written by Tobias Handke Illustration by Nicola Hooper

Summer is well and truly over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a refreshing cocktail at your local. Our friends at The Bitters Lab recommend The Harvest Highball, an autumn cocktail that’s not only easy to make, but also tastes delicious.

If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, why not try the Gingersnap Old Fashioned or the Fruit Mince Gin and Tonic.

THE HIGHBALL HARVEST

GINGERSNAP OLD FASHIONED

FRUIT MINCE GIN AND TONIC

• 45ml Bourbon whiskey • 10ml Speed Craft Grenadine • 10ml Maidenii Sweet Vermouth • 25ml fresh lemon juice • 2 dashes Mister Bitters Fig and Cinnamon bitters

• 10ml ginger syrup ( El Guapo if you like it sweeter, Pickett’s Medium if you like it with a bit more bite) • 60ml Dark Rum • 1 dash Scrappys Aromatic Bitters • 1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters

• 45ml Sloe Gin • 20ml Strong Tonic Syrup

Top with soda and garnish with fresh apple slices.

Stir down over ice and serve with orange zest and candied ginger.

Top with soda (100-150ml) and garnish with sliced pear and almond flakes.

Served long, in a tall glass with plenty of ice.

An ode to the cookie for which it is named, this sweeter style of old fashioned is perfect for those autumn nights, and packs a little zing.

An autumnal take on a gin and tonic, featuring loads of lovely fruit pie and spice flavors.

If you fancy learning more about the art of cocktail making, head to thebitterslab.com.au and sign up to their master class mailing list to get all the latest information regarding their cocktail classes.

THE MERRI TABLE

Three Years Giving Back to the Community Written by Estelle Artois Photography by Jean Baulch

Tucked away in the hustle and bustle of Brunswick’s East is a ten-acre plot known as CERES. This enormous block of land boasts various veggie patches, a nursery, chicken coops, a supermarket and even beehives to promote all things sustainable, organic and environmental.

Here on this pastoral bit of paradise is the Merri Table Café, which celebrates its third year anniversary this month. It boasts a gorgeous menu catering to meat eaters, vegans and the gluten intolerant alike.

Sally, Merri Table’s friendly front of house representative, agrees that organic food

and a cruelty-free menu have become very fashionable and niche in many cafes and restaurants but “CERES [was offering that service] ages ago when it was still considered daggy.”

CERES has offered ready-made meals as well as its local produce available for purchase in various different incarnations over the years. Before The Merri Table Café there was a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinners seven days a week. They also provide catering services and function spaces for business owners who wish to conduct meetings away from the hustle, bustle and concrete of the

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city, or for people who wish to celebrate a special event surrounded by mother nature.

“The main purpose behind operating a cafe at CERES is to provide a quality food service to our many visitors – over 350,000 each year – and to connect people to locally grown organic seasonal dishes whilst celebrating and supporting our local community food system,” says Melissa Lawson, the farm and food group manager for CERES. “CERES is a not for profit organisation and all of the income generated by our

social enterprises – The Merri Table, Nursery, Education, Grocery and Fair Food, our larger enterprises – goes towards supporting our overall operations and expenses. We are on a ten-acre site so there is much to maintain and care for!”

The food choices of the Merri Table’s menu are all selected with sustainable food in mind. Their relationship with their food enterprises is paramount as they only provide food that is in season from the stock in their Grocery, and outsource to local producers and farmers when their Honey Lane Market Garden and chickens cannot keep up with the demand from consumers. This two-way support between local farmers and producers ensures that you will only be eating seasonal fruit and veggies and organic meats and other produce. Lawson has admitted that “[they’ve] had lots of zucchini specials this month!”

“Our partnerships with farmers and

producers support a localised food system that gives back to those who care for the earth, their produce and animals.”

The CERES website states the following pledge: to contribute to all aspects of better living in regards to the social, environmental, economic, cultural and spiritual.

“CERES is a place for communitybased learning and action to create environmentally beneficial, socially just, economically satisfying, culturally enriching and spiritually nurturing ways of living together,” continues Lawson who has summarised the Merri Table and its ethos as follows: “It’s an income generating enterprise; it was built with environmental and energy principles in mind; it operates with sustainable practices at the forefront such as composting and organic purchasing; it supports 7 Stars - a project that employs

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migrant women who make food products and provide catering; it employs people from a rich variety of cultural backgrounds; it creates a space for community members to come together; it hosts Tamil Feasts - an asylum seeker dinner project; it provides a space for CERES to run community dinners and other celebrations!”

If you would like to get back to nature, purchase organically grown produce or sample the famous ‘Merri Goreng’ – a take on Mi Goreng cooked with brown rice, bean shoots, bok choy, tamarind, soy, house made sambal oelek, crispy shallots and fried eggs, or maybe try their fancy Fish n Chips made with lemongrass teasmoked Australian salmon with potato cakes, garden greens, golden beets, baby tomatoes and vinegar (both recommended by the Merri Table staff themselves), then head down to CERES, found on the corner of Roberts and Stewart Streets, Brunswick East.

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We’re open every day, so come and see why we’re Brunswick’s favourite independent bookstore.

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Issue 02 • April

Inner Circle Magazine • Music

MUSIC IN THE INNER NORTH ROUND-UP & PREVIEW Written by Tobias Handke

It was another massive month of music in the north throughout March, and we at Inner Circle made sure to experience as much as we could.

The 2017 Brunswick Music Festival was the clear highlight. Spread across two weeks and featuring over 40 shows - including specially commissioned performances, album launches, local label parties and oneoff live events - the festival took place in a variety of Brunswick establishments, showcasing some of the best international and local talent around. An estimated 60,000 people enjoyed the opening Sydney Road Street Party, with American ensemble The Hot 8 Brass Band and soulful Stella Angelico two of our favourite performers over the fortnight of musical madness.

Despite the unfortunate cancellation of Tegan & Sara, The Melbourne Zoo

Twilights series was another huge success, with international acts Warpaint, Kurt Vile and The Specials, along with local legends Peter Garrett, Paul Dempsey and Hoodoo Gurus playing to sold out crowds amongst the scenic surrounds of Melbourne Zoo. April gets off to a bang with Melbourne favourite Banoffee hitting up The Gasometer Hotel on April 7th for a special one-off show. Currently dividing her time between Melbourne and Los Angeles, Banoffe is using this performance as a chance to showcase new songs as well as old favourites.

The Byron Bay Bluesfest also occurs during April, and while it’s not held here in Melbourne, a number of must see acts are playing sideshows at some of our favourite northern venues. Canadian rockers The

5% oFF whEn mEntioning innEr circlE

Strumbellas play Northcote Social Club on April 16th, UK crooner Gallant play The Corner Hotel on April 17th and Joan Osborne play The Croxton in Thornbury on April 19th.

If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, there are a host of great Australian acts playing throughout April. Up and coming rapper Mallrat hits The Gasometer Hotel April 6th, Sydney trio Middle Kids launch new single Edge Of Town at the Northcote Social Club on April 19th, and Spiderbait continue the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of third album Ivy And The Big Apples with shows at the Corner Hotel on April 28th and 29th.

As you can see, April is another huge month for music in the north and we urge you to get amongst it.

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STEPPING INSIDE THE TOTE Written by Simon Wraight Photography by Jean Baulch & Quincy Malesovas (Live Photography) As you make your way down the Johnston Street hill and through the slightly less gentrified area of Collingwood, you stumble across some older, more ragged buildings.

Nestled on the corner of Wellington and Johnston Streets you will see a teal green coloured pub. The paint is flaking off and the façade has a number of visible cracks. As you look down, the teal colour is interrupted by solid squares of black proudly displaying in white and pink paint some of the acts that will be playing inside the venue over the next few days. A lot of the names may be confrontational, strange and confusing. The main entrance is a small, graffiti scribbled double door that leads you into a dark and

somewhat dingy front bar. You could be forgiven for thinking that you have stepped into a crappy dive bar and may be tempted to turn around and make your way back up the hill to your single origin latte or hop soaked craft beer on Smith Street. But don’t. You have just stepped inside The Tote.

The origins of the pub stretch back to the late 1800’s, when a pub named Healey’s was established on the site.

Healey’s later became the Ivanhoe Hotel and operated under this name until 1980, when The Tote was established and the pub quickly became synonymous with playing live music.

Since 1980 The Tote has represented all that is great about live music in the

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inner north and has hosted thousands of bands and artists, both local and international.

Today’s incarnation of the venue is slightly removed from the rockcentric venue that you would have found during the 80’s. One of the great things about the current version is that they have a real desire to play a wide range of music styles. Band booker Rich Stanley explains that this is an explicit objective and that they try to play anything that isn’t commercially viable. With diversity in music comes diversity in everything else, and as Rich further explains, The Tote is a “high-functioning dive bar: a houseproud shithole that has a killer PA

where you can see all kinds of bands, you can get loaded and make a mess of yourself, and no-one’s gonna look at you funny for wearing shit clothes. Or for wearing expensive clothes. If you want to clumsily strum a guitar, have a meltdown with just you and your synth, or play blast beats all night, go for your life.”

When Rich took over the band booking role, the venue had a reputation of playing “all rock, all the time”, but he realised that the pub hadn’t always been that way and had become stuck in its own legacy. He states that he wanted to blow that legacy wide open and get rid off all of the associated baggage that came with this rock centric title.

In this way the pub has grown a new reputation, and that is one of diversity and inclusion. Rich further highlights that a venue is only as good as its next week of gigs, and once you have a space where everyone feels welcome to play, the venue will organically grow into something that encourages a wide range of new and exciting music. It is in this way that The Tote is so crucial to the culture of the inner north. And it is through the encouragement of local establishments like The Tote that Collingwood can retain its unique soul and identity and surf the wave of gentrification, which at times threatens the very existence of the bohemian/ artistic culture. Here many artists

get a platform to perform their own sounds and produce their own styles that run against the mainstream, and hence keep the raw artistic culture of Collingwood alive.

It is because of this attitude from The Tote, that the venue has become so much more important in recent years. The inner north is a hot bed of culture and cultures. The need and desire for diversity and inclusion is clear, but is something that many other venues fail to provide. Night after night of men playing rock music isn’t helping anyone, and some of the most important voices in any community come from the ones on the edges, the oppressed voices that have something urgent to say, but sometimes have no way or place to say it. Thanks to The Tote a lot of this talent is nurtured and these ideas can help to infiltrate the mainstream and change out-dated stereotypes and attitudes. Music can be a powerful tool in getting ideas into public consciousness, and by giving a wide range of different people a platform to perform means that a wide range of ideas are presented.

There are many ways you can experience live music at The Tote.

Whether it is a front bar residency, an album launch, an international act in the main bandroom, or a hot and sweaty gig upstairs during one of the

25

many ‘festivals’ that they put on. Each room has its charm and they all have great sound, which means that you can become fully immersed in the music that is on offer. Part of the charm is the rundown interior, it is a dive bar in every sense of the word, but one that has played host to so many talented artists and provided a safe haven for so many in this ever changing suburb.

Collingwood, and indeed Melbourne, has a lot to thank The Tote for, and many of your favourite artists have probably either played at The Tote, or become inspired after seeing a band live at the venue.

There are many reasons that we should all be thankful for having such an amazing, progressive venue right on our doorstep. It was almost lost in 2010 and the thought of Collingwood without it is unbearable for a lot of people. We need to continue to support the venue because it values inclusiveness and diversity and flies the flag against boring or stale mainstream music. It is a venue that supports the local arts and is a place for anyone and everyone. We need to ensure that The Tote knows that we love and value its existence. So go and watch a gig, or drop in for a drink with a friend. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.

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Issue 02 • April

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